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Need help with NYT Connections game #990 for Wednesday, February 25, 2026? Start with the word list and graduated hints below, then stop before the answer section if you want to solve the groups yourself. A new puzzle appears at midnight in each player’s time zone, which explains why TechRadar’s guide was published on February 24 for the February 25 game.
Today’s Connections word list
The 16 tiles in game #990 are:
NAPKIN, COOK, BABY, PRINCIPAL, DEAN, NURSE, KEY, MOTHER, BASIC, ALKALINE, HARDEN, FOSTER, DIATRIBE, PRIMARY, BROWN, DECLAN.
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Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are the clues in increasing order of specificity. Stop here if you want to avoid seeing the category names and complete solutions.
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- Yellow: Look after.
- Green: Starter.
- Blue: A forename in common.
- Purple: All include close groups.
Spoilers: today’s category names and answers
The following section reveals all four groups and their tiles.
#1 Best Overall
Yellow — CARE FOR
BABY, FOSTER, MOTHER, NURSE.
Green — ELEMENTARY
BASIC, KEY, PRIMARY, PRINCIPAL. Each can describe something basic, central, or foundational.
Blue — JAMESES
BROWN, COOK, DEAN, HARDEN. Put James before each tile to make James Brown, James Cook, James Dean, and James Harden.
Rank #2
Purple — ENDING IN FAMILY WORDS
ALKALINE, DECLAN, DIATRIBE, NAPKIN. Their endings are LINE, CLAN, TRIBE, and KIN, respectively.
How Connections works
Connections is a word game in which players sort 16 items into four groups of four based on a shared connection. The groups have different difficulty levels. It is available through the NYT Games site on desktop and mobile.
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