Wordle today: Here's the 494 answer and hint for Wednesday, October 26

Today's Wordle puzzle on a smartphone

If you need a little help with your Wordle today then you've come to the right place. Here you'll find a fresh daily clue to set you on the right track, general tips to make every day that little bit easier, and if you'd just like to secure another victory then you'll find the answer to the October 26 (494) puzzle just below

I had an interesting build-up to the answer today: one green, then two, then three, then four, then the answer. I didn't see a single yellow the whole way through, instead it was a strange sort of green letter snowball from start to finish.

Wordle hint

Wordle today: A hint for Wednesday, October 26

Today's answer is used to describe the act of openly and intentionally disregarding some sort of reasonable rule—social or legal—in a disrespectful way. This is the person who jumps the queue, plays loud music in a quiet library, and sees speeding ticket fines as worth the cost. There are two vowels to find today.  

Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day 

If there's one thing better than playing Wordle, it's playing Wordle well, which is why I'm going to share a few quick tips to help set you on the path to success:

  • A good opener contains a balanced mix of unique vowels and consonants. 
  • A tactical second guess helps to narrow down the pool of letters quickly.
  • The solution may contain repeat letters.

There's no time pressure beyond making sure it's done by midnight. So there's no reason to not treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you're coming up blank.

Previous answers

Wordle archive: Which words have been used

The more past Wordle answers you can cram into your memory banks, the better your chances of guessing today's Wordle answer without accidentally picking a solution that's already been used. Past Wordle answers can also give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle solving fresh.

Here are some recent Wordle solutions:

  • October 25: FOGGY
  • October 24: FAULT
  • October 23: MUMMY
  • October 22: SPIEL
  • October 21: GROVE
  • October 20: DENIM
  • October 19: QUIRK
  • October 18: EXIST
  • October 17: STEIN
  • October 16: SPADE

Today's Wordle answer

Wordle today

(Image credit: Josh Wardle)

What is the Wordle 494 answer?

Let's save your win streak. The answer to the October 26 (494) Wordle is FLOUT

Learn more about Wordle 

Every day Wordle presents you with six rows of five boxes, and it's up to you to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them.

You'll want to start with a strong word like ALERT—something containing multiple vowels, common consonants, and no repeat letters. Hit Enter and the boxes will show you which letters you've got right or wrong. If a box turns ⬛️, it means that letter isn't in the secret word at all. 🟨 means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. 🟩 means you've got the right letter in the right spot.

You'll want your second go to compliment the first, using another "good" word to cover any common letters you missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn't present in today's answer.

After that it's just a case of using what you've learned to narrow your guesses down to the right word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words (so no filling the boxes with EEEEE to see if there's an E). Don't forget letters can repeat too (ex: BOOKS).

If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you'd like to find out which words have already been used you'll find those below.

Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn't long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it's only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes. 

Kerry Brunskill
Contributing Writer

When baby Kerry was brought home from the hospital her hand was placed on the space bar of the family Atari 400, a small act of parental nerdery that has snowballed into a lifelong passion for gaming and the sort of freelance job her school careers advisor told her she couldn't do. She's now PC Gamer's word game expert, taking on the daily Wordle puzzle to give readers a hint each and every day. Her Wordle streak is truly mighty.


Somehow Kerry managed to get away with writing regular features on old Japanese PC games, telling today's PC gamers about some of the most fascinating and influential games of the '80s and '90s.