Opener Lab

ADIEU vs RAISE

See which word leaves you with the easier game.

RAISE leads in the previous complete six-turn benchmark

These game-length figures come from the previous complete opener benchmark against its 2,354-answer snapshot, ranked by average guesses among games solved within six. Its answer snapshot and continuation policy are separate from today's solver recommendations.

The same solver played from both openers. RAISE has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.60 guesses to 3.73 for ADIEU.

Looking only at the opening row, RAISE has higher entropy (5.88 bits versus 4.89). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.

Against 1,876 past Wordle answers, RAISE left the smaller first-guess group on 73% of dates; ADIEU did so on 27%, with the rest tied.

MetricADIEURAISE
Elimination94.7%97.4%
Information4.89 bits5.88 bits
Avg remaining125 words62 words
Avg turns3.733.60
Win rate99.9%99.8%
Tier (first turn only)BS

Head to head on past answers

We tried both openers against 1,876 past Wordle answers and counted which one left fewer possibilities after the first guess.

499 ADIEU ahead (27%)
11 Ties (0%)
1366 RAISE ahead (73%)

Across those answers, ADIEU left an average of 124 candidates and RAISE an average of 62.

The most recent test was Wordle #1875 on August 7, 2026, when the answer was FEIGN. ADIEU came back ⬛⬛🟩🟨⬛ and kept 52 words in play. RAISE came back ⬛⬛🟩⬛🟨 and kept 15 words.

What to expect from the first guess

OutcomeADIEURAISE
First-turn solve* 0% 0.04%
At least one green 29.1% 43.7%
Any green or yellow 93.0% 92.7%
Whole row gray 7.0% 7.3%
Worst case answers left 288 173

*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.

Both openers come back completely gray at almost the same rate, so the difference between them lies in how much their hits actually tell you.

ADIEU is not on the possible-answer list, so it cannot solve the game on turn one here. It can still be a useful guess.

Planning the second guess

After ADIEU

All five letters miss 7.0% of the time, leaving 165 words in play. Of the 665 follow-ups checked here, STOOL leaves the fewest possible answers on average (6.3).

Its most common result is 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛, which shows up 12.2% of the time and leaves 288 possibilities. Of the 779 follow-ups checked here, COAST leaves the fewest possible answers on average (11.7).

After RAISE

All five letters miss 7.3% of the time, leaving 173 words in play. Of the 673 follow-ups checked here, COULD leaves the fewest possible answers on average (6.8).

How these two openers fit together

ADIEU and RAISE share 3 letters (A, E, I). Played as a pair they cover 7 distinct letters, which still gives the second word room to do useful work.

Played back to back, ADIEU then RAISE earns 7.34 bits of information in total, 1.47 bits more than the better word manages alone.

Past Wordle answers

  • ADIEU: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.
  • RAISE: Answer to Wordle #1035 on April 19, 2024. ADIEU would have come back 🟨⬛🟩🟨⬛ that day, leaving 4 possible answers.

Common questions

Which is a better starting word: ADIEU or RAISE?
In the previous complete benchmark, RAISE has the lower average in games the solver finished within six: 3.60 guesses versus 3.73 for ADIEU. The same solver played from both words.
What does entropy mean for ADIEU vs RAISE?
Entropy measures the information in the distribution of feedback outcomes. ADIEU records 4.89 bits and RAISE records 5.88 bits. RAISE has the higher score, so its feedback distribution separates the possible answers more effectively on average. Entropy describes the opening row; it does not by itself predict how many guesses a game will take.
How do ADIEU and RAISE score against past Wordle answers?
Across 1,876 past Wordle answers, ADIEU left fewer possible answers than RAISE on 27% of days, RAISE did better on 73%, and the rest were ties. On average, ADIEU left 124 candidates after the first guess and RAISE left 62.