Wordle puzzle
Wordle puzzle

NEW YORK — Sunday's Wordle, puzzle No. 1954, has a fashion theme and a repeated letter that could cost players a guess or two.

The answer for Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, appears near the end of this article for players who want to save their streak. Hints come first, starting gently.

How Wordle works

Wordle, published daily by The New York Times, gives players six tries to guess a hidden five-letter word. After each guess, the tiles change color:

Green: the letter is in the word and in the correct spot. Yellow: the letter is in the word but in the wrong spot. Gray: the letter is not in the word.

A new puzzle is released at midnight local time, and everyone in the same time zone plays the same word. Software engineer Josh Wardle created the game, and The New York Times bought it in early 2022.

Hints for Wordle No. 1954

These clues get more specific as you go. Stop reading when you have enough.

Hint 1: The word has only one vowel. Hint 2: At least one letter appears twice. Hint 3: It can be used as a noun or a verb. Hint 4: It is something you might wear to a wedding or a dinner party. Hint 5: Puzzle site Parade suggested looking for it under the social media tags #fitcheck and #ootd, short for "outfit of the day."

More specific clues

The word starts with D. The only vowel is E. The repeated letter appears at the end of the word.

The double-letter trap

Repeated letters are one of the most common reasons players lose a Wordle streak. Many players avoid guessing a letter twice early on, assuming each letter appears only once. When an answer ends in a double letter, as Sunday's does, a player can confirm most of the word but still need extra guesses to realize a letter repeats.

Words ending in a doubled S, L or F, such as PRESS, SMELL or STAFF, are a frequent source of trouble.

Strategy tips

Longtime Wordle players often rely on a few habits:

Open with common letters. Starting words that include frequently used letters, such as E, A, R, T, S and N, can quickly narrow the field. Consider doubles. If you have only a few letters confirmed and no word seems to fit, try repeating one of them. Avoid gray letters. Don't reuse ruled-out letters unless you are playing in "hard mode," which requires reusing confirmed letters. Use the endings. Common patterns such as -ESS, -ASS and -OSS can narrow the possibilities once you know the last letters.

Today's Wordle answer

The answer to Wordle No. 1954 on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, is:

DRESS

As a noun, a dress is a one-piece garment with a top and a skirt. As a verb, "dress" means to put on clothes or to clothe someone else. It also has other uses, such as dressing a salad, dressing a wound or dressing a turkey for a holiday meal.

Related phrases include "dress code," "dress rehearsal" and "dressed to the nines," meaning dressed very stylishly.

Saturday's answer

Saturday's Wordle, No. 1953 on Oct. 24, was HOLEY, meaning full of holes. It sounds just like the words "holy" and "wholly," which tripped up some players.

Weekend puzzles

Sundays tend to draw some of the largest Wordle audiences as players solve at a slower pace and compare results with friends and family. The game does not officially sort answers by difficulty. Still, words with repeated letters, like Sunday's, often take more guesses than words made of five different letters.

After solving, players can share a grid of colored squares showing how many guesses they needed, without revealing the word. The grids remain a popular way to compare scores in group chats and on social media.

Other New York Times games

Wordle is part of a daily lineup of puzzles from The New York Times that includes:

Connections, which asks players to sort 16 words into four hidden groups Strands, a themed word search Spelling Bee, which challenges players to make words from seven letters The Mini Crossword, a short daily crossword

Sunday's Connections puzzle, No. 1232, was rated one of the toughest of the week. Its groups included pasta shapes and famous fictional characters named Tom.

A new Wordle puzzle is released every day at midnight local time.