Wordle #553 Answer – December 24, 2022

This page covers Wordle puzzle #553, played on Saturday, December 24, 2022. If you are playing it in the NYT Wordle archive, start with the hints. The answer comes after them, along with what the word means, how hard it was, and how the most popular starting words would have done.

Hints for Wordle #553

Hint 1: How many vowels?

The answer has 3 vowels (A, E, I, O, U).

Hint 2: First letter

It starts with the letter P.

Hint 3: Last letter

It ends with the letter E.

Hint 4: Repeated letters?

No, all five letters are different.

Hint 5: Meaning

noun — A state of balance, equilibrium or stability.

Wordle #553 Answer

The answer to Wordle #553 on December 24, 2022 was:

POISE

POISE has been the Wordle answer only once so far.

What Does POISE Mean?

Poise (noun): A state of balance, equilibrium or stability.

How Hard Was Wordle #553?

3.4/10Easy
9%harder than this share of all 1,962 Wordles
2look-alike answers
  • 3 vowels, which a typical starting word uncovers quickly.
  • Five different letters, which suits most guessing strategies.
  • Only common letters, with nothing unusual to find.
  • A few look-alike answers share four of its five letter spots.

Look-alike answers: NOISE, POSSE.

How Popular Starting Words Did Against POISE

Here is the color feedback each well-known opener would have given on this puzzle, and how many past Wordle answers would still fit after that one guess. Fewer is better.

OpenerFeedbackAnswers left
SLATESLATE25
CRANECRANE89
TRACETRACE94
STARESTARE18
RAISERAISE3
AUDIOAUDIO24

On this puzzle, RAISE was the most useful opener, leaving 3 possible answers. Read our guide to the best starting words →

How to Solve Wordle #553 Step by Step

Here is one efficient way to reach POISE. We open with SLATE, then each next guess is the word, from those still possible, that leaves the fewest options on average. Every guess fits all the clues so far, so this path is also legal in Hard Mode.

GuessFeedbackWords still possible
1. SLATESLATE27
2. ROUSEROUSE6
3. POISEPOISESolved

Solved in 3 guesses. After SLATE, 27 everyday words still fit. Try your own guesses in our Wordle solver to see which words were left at each step.

Letter-by-Letter Breakdown of POISE

PositionLetterAppears in (all answers)In this exact spot
1stP14.6%6.1%
2ndO30%12.6%
3rdI27.8%10.9%
4thS25.8%7.5%
5thE47.1%19.7%

On This Day in Wordle: December 24

Answers from the same date in other years:

YearPuzzleAnswer
2025#1649SPOOL
2024#1284EAGLE
2023#918GRACE
2021#188WEARY

Wordle #553 FAQ

What was the Wordle answer on December 24, 2022?

The answer to Wordle #553 on December 24, 2022 was POISE.

Was Wordle #553 hard?

We rate it 3.4 out of 10 (Easy), harder than about 9% of all Wordle puzzles.

What was the best starting word for Wordle #553?

Of the popular openers, RAISE did best, leaving 3 possible answers after the first guess.