Wordle has taken over the internet in a way no one saw coming. When the new year arrived, suddenly everyone was playing Wordle daily, doing their best to think up the best first words in Wordle that may hold the key to each day's success. We too have caught the Wordle bug, and it's led us to try and think of new words and Wordle strategies that may help keep those streaks alive and that winning percentage pristine. With that in mind, here are what we consider to be the best starting words for Wordle, along with some key strategies from some of our avid players on staff.

Wordle: best words to start with

If you prefer a list of the best first words for Wordle, we recommend starting any given day with these. If you'd rather hear directly from some of our Wordle-obsessed editors, be sure to check out their more specific strategies below. The key is often to quickly find vowels or common consonants that belong in each day's word. From that starting point, we've identified these words as some of the very best first words for Wordle:

• React
• Adieu
• Sired
• Tears
• Alone
• Arise
• About
• Atone
• Irate
• Snare
• Cream
• Paint
• Worse
• Sauce
• Anime
• Prowl
• Roast
• Drape
• Media

My go-to strategy with Wordle is two-pronged: Concentrate on the vowels and then narrow it down with the most common consonants. I'll start with a vowel-heavy word like ADIEU, which usually identifies at least one letter (two if I'm lucky). Based on that first try, I'll then try and find a word that incorporates consonants like T, S, and R on the second line, and if I'm feeling particularly smart, I'll try and fit in the vowel O somewhere as well. This strategy usually leads me to a solution by line 4 (85% of my wins in the last two weeks have been at 4), although it has led me astray once (damn you TIGER). -- Randy Ramsay