Wordle puzzle
Wordle puzzle

NEW YORK — Sunday's Wordle has a bit of attitude.

The New York Times' daily word game, puzzle No. 1,975 for Nov. 15, 2026, gives players a five-letter word linked to sharp, sarcastic remarks. It is a familiar word, but it can still take a few tries.

WordleBot, the Times' analysis tool, says the average player solves Sunday's puzzle in about 4.1 guesses in regular mode and 4.2 in hard mode. That makes it a little harder than a typical day, but still well within reach for most players.

Players who want to keep their streak alive without seeing the answer can work through the hints below. The solution comes later in the story.

Wordle Hints for Sunday, Nov. 15

Hint 1: The word has one vowel. Hint 2: No letter appears twice. Hint 3: It begins with a consonant. Hint 4: The vowel is the third letter. Hint 5: It starts with S and ends with K. Hint 6: The pattern is S _ A _ K. Meaning hint: Think of a snide, sarcastic tone. It's often used online and in sharp comebacks during an argument.

Four of the five letters are among the most common in Wordle answers. K is the least common letter in the word, so players who don't try it early may get stuck.

Strategy Tips

Players using a vowel-heavy opener such as ADIEU or AUDIO will probably find only the A, since the word has one vowel. A consonant-heavy second guess can help narrow things down quickly.

Common starters such as SLATE, CRANE or STARE will likely put S and A in useful spots from the first guess. From there, the main job is to place N and R and then figure out the last letter.

Players who reach S _ A R _ or S N A _ _ should watch for traps. Several valid words fit similar patterns, including SNARE, SHARK, SPARK, STARK and SNACK. Choosing a guess that tests several of the missing consonants at once can save a turn. Hard-mode players don't have that option, because they must reuse every confirmed letter.

Spoiler Warning

The answer is below. Players who want to keep solving on their own should stop reading here.

Today's Wordle Answer

The answer to Wordle No. 1,975 for Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, is SNARK.

The word means sarcastic, snide or irreverent commentary. It is often used for the biting tone of online comment sections, television recaps and social media. The adjective form, "snarky," is the more common version in everyday speech.

The word also has a literary history. Lewis Carroll used "Snark" as the name of an imaginary creature in his 1876 nonsense poem "The Hunting of the Snark." Its modern meaning, a sarcastic tone, came into wide use much later.

Recent Wordle Answers

Players looking back over the week can check their memory against recent solutions:

Wordle No. 1,974 (Saturday, Nov. 14): RANDY Wordle No. 1,973 (Friday, Nov. 13): MOXIE Wordle No. 1,972 (Thursday, Nov. 12): KARAT Wordle No. 1,971 (Wednesday, Nov. 11): BLESS

This week's answers have included proper-noun-sounding words, gemstone terms and personality traits. The mix shows how wide the game's vocabulary list is.

How Wordle Works

Players get six tries to guess a five-letter word. After each guess, the tiles change color:

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

A new puzzle comes out every day at midnight local time, so every player gets the same word on the same day.

In hard mode, players must use every confirmed letter in later guesses. That keeps them from using "burner" words to test new letters. It also explains why WordleBot's hard-mode average for Sunday is a little higher.

From Side Project to Daily Habit

Software engineer Josh Wardle created Wordle as a gift for his partner. It became a worldwide hit in late 2021 and early 2022. The New York Times bought the game in early 2022 and made it the centerpiece of its growing games lineup, which also includes Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee and the Mini Crossword.

The game's single daily puzzle and shareable grid of colored squares made it a social habit. Many players compare scores with friends and family every morning.

Tips for Building a Longer Streak

Experienced players say a consistent approach beats luck. Common advice includes:

Use the same strong opening word every day. Pay attention to letter frequency. Avoid guessing letters already ruled out. Watch for double letters, which often catch players out even though Sunday's answer has none. Watch for less common letters such as K, J, Q, X and Z. On days like Sunday, missing one of them can turn an easy solve into a close call.

The next Wordle puzzle comes out at midnight local time.