Play Wordle #1946
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Wordle #1946 hints
The hints run from gentle to giveaway. Open one, go back to your game, and only come back if you're still stuck.
Hints used: 0
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How many vowels?Gentle hint
Today's word has 2 vowels (A, E, I, O or U). It's a noun.
See every 5-letter word with 2 vowels
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Are any letters repeated?Gentle hint
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What does it mean?Helpful hint
An embarrassing slip in social situations, like saying the wrong thing at the worst possible moment.
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What's the first letter?Helpful hint
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What's the last letter?Strong hint
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Show me the patternStrong hint
GAEThe pattern is G A _ _ E. Two letters left to find. See words that fit this pattern
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How popular openers scored on #1946
Curious how the most-used starting words do against this puzzle? This shows the colours each one would get and how many 5-letter words would still be possible after it. It gives away letters, so treat it as a medium-strength hint.
Show SLATE, CRANE and AUDIO against Wordle #1946
Counts come from the 12,653 five-letter words in our Wordle solver list, which includes rare words the NYT never picks, so the real field is smaller. On this puzzle, CRANE narrowed things down the most.
Wordle #1946 answer
Spoiler zone. Everything below shows the answer for October 17, 2026.
Tap a tile to see just that letter, or open the full answer below.
Show the answer
The answer to Wordle #1946 is GAFFE.
Meaning: A clumsy or embarrassing mistake, especially one made in public or in a social setting.
In a sentence: He made a big gaffe when he called his new boss by the wrong name during the meeting.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Word type
- noun
- Vowels
- 2
Double F and a silent final E make it tricky, though the word is fairly common.
Other words that fit G A _ _ E
These 11 words all share the first two letters and last letter of this puzzle's answer, so they are the ones players most often guess on the way. The answer is highlighted.
- GABLE
- GADGE
- GADJE
- GAFFE
- GAMBE
- GAMME
- GARBE
- GARRE
- GAUGE
- GAUJE
- GAUZE
GAFFE by the numbers
- 5 of the last 106 Wordle answers started with G, and 21 ended with E.
- The least common letter in GAFFE, measured across recent answers, is F, which appeared in 8 of 106 answers.
- It has a repeated letter (F), which catches out many players.
Recent Wordle answers
| Date | Puzzle | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 16 | #1945 | SHADY |
| Oct 15 | #1944 | DUNCE |
| Oct 14 | #1943 | PSYCH |
| Oct 13 | #1942 | WIDER |
| Oct 12 | #1941 | YODEL |
| Oct 11 | #1940 | UNCAP |
| Oct 10 | #1939 | BUMPY |
About Wordle
Wordle is a daily five-letter word puzzle published by The New York Times. You have six guesses, and each letter turns green, yellow or grey to show how close it is. Every player gets the same word each day, which is why archives like this one are useful for checking past answers and spotting patterns. New to the game? Read how to play Wordle, or see which starting words work best on real answers.
Other puzzles on Oct 17
Wordle #1946 questions
What was the Wordle answer on October 17, 2026?
The answer to Wordle #1946 on October 17, 2026 was GAFFE. It means: A clumsy or embarrassing mistake, especially one made in public or in a social setting.
Was Wordle #1946 hard?
We rated it Medium. Double F and a silent final E make it tricky, though the word is fairly common.
What letters were in Wordle #1946?
GAFFE has 2 vowels and the repeated letter F. It starts with G and ends with E.