Wordle
Wordle

Wordle players starting their week have a straightforward but slightly unfamiliar word ahead of them, one that describes something raw, rough or in its natural, unrefined state. Here's a full breakdown of Wordle #1836 for Monday, June 29, 2026, including hints for those still working through it and the complete answer for anyone ready to check their guess.

What is Wordle?

Wordle is the daily word-guessing game created by Welsh software engineer Josh Wardle, originally built as something to play with his partner before it became publicly available in October 2021. The game's simple format, six tries to guess a hidden five-letter word with color-coded feedback after every attempt, helped it surge in popularity once Wardle added a feature letting players share their results as colored emoji squares. The New York Times Company purchased Wordle in January 2022 for an undisclosed seven-figure sum, with plans to keep the game free for all players, and it remains one of the most widely played daily puzzles in the world.

The mechanics remain unchanged since launch. After each guess, green tiles indicate a letter is correct and in the right position, yellow tiles indicate a correct letter in the wrong position, and gray tiles indicate a letter that doesn't appear in the word at all. Players get six total guesses before the puzzle resets at midnight local time, giving every player around the world a fresh challenge once the clock strikes 12 wherever they happen to be.

Hints for today's puzzle, without giving it away

For solvers who want to take a crack at Monday's word before reading further, several outlets covering today's puzzle published hints to help narrow down the possibilities.

The word begins with a consonant, specifically the letter C. It contains two vowels and three consonants, with no repeated letters anywhere in the five-letter sequence. Functionally, the word is an adjective, and it describes something that exists in a natural, rough or unaltered state, something that has not yet been refined or processed. One outlet summarized the definition simply as referring to something "unrefined or raw."

Today's Wordle answer: CRUDE

For players ready to see the solution, or who have already used up their six guesses, the answer to Wordle #1836 for Monday, June 29, 2026, is CRUDE.

The word fits every hint precisely: it begins with C, contains the vowels U and E alongside the consonants C, R and D, and carries no duplicate letters. As an adjective, CRUDE most commonly describes something in its natural or unprocessed form, such as crude oil before refining, though it's also frequently used to describe behavior or language considered coarse, vulgar or lacking in tact and refinement.

Players who opened with words testing common consonant clusters, such as TRACE, CHORD or BRIDE, may have picked up valuable yellow or green tiles pointing toward today's answer before landing on it outright.

Yesterday's answer for comparison

For context on how the puzzle has trended heading into the new week, yesterday's Wordle, puzzle #1835 for Sunday, June 28, was EMCEE, a notably trickier word built around a single letter repeated three times. Monday's CRUDE represents a return to a more conventional structure, with no repeated letters and a more familiar consonant-vowel pattern that several puzzle outlets described as more approachable for casual players.

Strategy tips for tackling Wordle

Word-game guides accompanying Monday's puzzle offered some general advice for players looking to sharpen their approach. One frequently repeated tip involves choosing a strong starting word that features multiple vowels and avoids repeating letters already ruled out in earlier guesses, with commonly recommended openers including ADIEU, AUDIO, RAISE, ATONE and STONE.

Players are also encouraged not to dismiss the possibility of repeated letters too quickly in future puzzles, since Wordle answers occasionally use the same letter twice, as in words like SHEEP or BLOOM, even though Monday's specific answer happened to avoid that pattern entirely. For players down to their final two guesses, the recommended approach is to avoid wild, exploratory guesses and instead choose a word that fits every clue uncovered so far. Earlier guesses, by contrast, are generally considered a better opportunity to test a wide range of unused letters before narrowing in on the most likely answer.

A note on hard mode for more experienced players

For Wordle veterans looking for an extra challenge, several outlets also pointed to the game's built-in hard mode, which requires players to reuse any letters already confirmed as correct in subsequent guesses, removing the option to ignore known information in pursuit of testing entirely new letters. The mode is available directly within the official Wordle settings for anyone looking to add an extra layer of difficulty to their daily routine.

What's next for Wordle players

The next puzzle, Wordle #1837, will go live at midnight local time heading into Tuesday, June 30, resetting the board for players working to extend or rebuild their personal win streaks. Wordle continues to release a single new puzzle every 24 hours regardless of time zone, meaning the exact puzzle number in play at any moment can vary slightly depending on where in the world a given player happens to be located.

Players looking for additional daily puzzle coverage can also find ongoing guides for the New York Times' broader lineup of games, including Connections, the sports-themed Connections variant, Strands and the Mini Crossword, each of which follows its own midnight reset and offers a distinct style of daily challenge beyond Wordle's five-letter word format.

Whether solved as a quick morning ritual before the workday begins or shared competitively with friends and family through screenshotted results, Wordle remains one of the most consistently popular daily games of the past several years, and Monday's CRUDE adds one more entry to an archive that now stretches well past 1,800 puzzles since the game's original 2021 release.

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