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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIn February 2022, The New York Times said it was updating Wordle’s word list to remove obscure words and terms it considered insensitive or offensive. Contemporary reports said the changes included gendered and racial slurs. But the available reporting does not establish a complete list of removed terms—or whether any particular term is currently accepted as a guess or possible answer.
What the Times changed in February 2022
After The New York Times acquired Wordle, reports described edits to both the words scheduled to appear as future answers and the words the game accepts when a player submits a guess. ABC News reported that the Times confirmed changes to accepted five-letter solutions, while Ars Technica described removed entries that included gendered and racial slurs and words connected with potentially offensive topics. Ars Technica’s February 2022 report and ABC News’ report document the contemporary coverage.
The Times’ stated rationale, as quoted by ABC News, was: “We are updating the word list over time to remove obscure words to keep the puzzle accessible to more people, as well as insensitive or offensive words.” The statement describes the aim of the updates; it does not enumerate every changed word. ABC News
Answer list and guess list are different
Wordle has a pool of words that can be selected as the daily answer and a broader dictionary of words players may enter as guesses. Those sets are not interchangeable: a term can be excluded from the answer pool without necessarily being rejected as a guess. February 2022 coverage described changes involving both lists, but it does not provide a complete, authoritative inventory showing the status of every reported term in each list. Ars Technica
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For that reason, reports that “slurs were removed” should not be read as proof that every such word was removed from both the answer pool and accepted guesses. Nor do the reports establish the status of any particular term in the game today: Wordle’s word lists can change over time.
Why players sometimes saw different answers
Some players were using older copies of Wordle that had not synchronized with the Times’ updated list. Reports said this could temporarily result in different answers for different players. The discrepancy was a version and synchronization issue, rather than evidence that all players were receiving the same live list at once. Ars Technica; The Verge
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The May 2022 FETUS change was a separate case
In May 2022, the Times removed FETUS as that day’s intended answer for some players after a leaked US Supreme Court draft opinion made the word especially prominent in the news. The Times said the answer had been loaded the previous year and that its timing was unintentional; coverage also described a temporary split in the answers players received. That one-day change was distinct from February’s broader removal rationale concerning obscure or offensive terms. The New York Times
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How daily answers were curated later in 2022
In November 2022, the Times introduced a curated answer process and a dedicated Wordle editor, Tracy Bennett. Contemporary coverage distinguished the selected daily-answer pool from the larger dictionary of valid guesses. This describes a later change to answer selection; it does not establish the complete contents or current status of either list. The New York Times
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