Accepted guess Not a possible answer C tier for first-turn info

DEFIS

DEFIS is accepted as a guess but is not on the solver's possible-answer list.

No dictionary definition for DEFIS is recorded in our sourced data.

As an opener, it rules out about 92.0% of possible answers.

Meaning and pronunciation

We do not have a sourced definition for this word yet.

Check DEFIS on Wiktionary or report a missing entry.

Wordle status

A word can be a playable guess without being a possible answer.

Playable guess

Yes

Included in the Wordle guess list used by our tools.

Possible answer

No

The solver does not currently treat this as a possible answer.

Past Wordle answer

Not used yet

No past answer date found.

The possible-answer list is the solver's current list and may change when Wordle adds new answers.

How DEFIS performs as a guess

Wordle accepts DEFIS as a guess, but the solver does not list it as a possible answer.

Played as an opener, it lands at least one colored tile in 81.8% of games, misses completely in 18.2%, and leaves about 190 possible answers on average.

In the previous complete opener benchmark, it ranks #6,943 of 14,855 openers, averaging 3.70 guesses in games solved within six turns.

Try your feedback pattern

Tap the tiles to match your feedback, then see the ranked follow-up guesses.

All gray? Tap a tile to cycle gray → yellow → green.

First-turn measures

All four describe DEFIS used as an opening guess. Entropy is the same idea as “avg ruled out” on a log scale: a higher number means the guess splits the possible answers into more, smaller groups.

4.49 Entropy (bits)
190 Avg remaining
0.0% Exact match
92.0% Avg ruled out
Higher first-turn entropy than about 51% of evaluated openers
1.46 bits below the highest measured first-turn entropy (~5.95 bits)

As an opening guess: previous benchmark

How DEFIS performed in the previous complete opener benchmark, against its captured answer snapshot. These research figures are separate from today's solver recommendations. See the data page for the method.

3.70 Avg guesses
99.96% Solved within six
0.68 Spread of game lengths
#6,943 Rank among openers
Opening with DEFIS left 1 of the snapshot's answers unsolved after six guesses. A spread of 0.68 means those games clustered within about 0.68 of a guess of the 3.70 average. It ranks #6,943 of 14,855 openers by average guesses in games solved within six.
1 guess
0
2 guesses
55
3 guesses
821
4 guesses
1,263
5 guesses
200
6 guesses
14
Top-ranked in the current bounded policy screen: SLANT. The policy minimizes misses within six first, then average guesses among wins (3.46 for the leader). Compare the ranking measures

Composition

5/5 unique
2 vowels
Common:
EIS

Feedback chances

Any hit (G/Y)
82%
Green tile
22%
All gray
18%

Feedback distribution

DEFIS can come back 84 different ways. These are the most likely, and how many of the possible answers give each one:

431 answers
341 answers
217 answers
157 answers
157 answers
123 answers
98 answers
70 answers
68 answers
63 answers
57 answers
53 answers
36 answers
30 answers
29 answers
27 answers
26 answers
26 answers
22 answers
21 answers
19 answers
19 answers
17 answers
17 answers
16 answers
16 answers
14 answers
14 answers
14 answers
13 answers

Letter-value totals

Base letter-value totals for DEFIS; these do not show whether either game accepts the word.

Scrabble

D2E1F4I1S1
Total: 9 points

Words With Friends

Total: 9 points

Scores shown are base values without double/triple letter or word bonuses.

Strategy after playing DEFIS

What the solver recommends next for each way the board can respond to DEFIS.

Quick reference

Largest feedback groups after playing DEFIS:

18% chance
Suggested:
CAROL
14% chance
Suggested:
ALTER
9% chance
Suggested:
SLART

Follow-ups for common patterns

Ranked follow-up guesses for the 10 most common feedback patterns.

18.2%
CAROL 6.02 bits
14.4%
ALTER 5.41 bits
9.1%
SLART 5.31 bits
6.6%
PRINT 4.92 bits
6.6%
SLART 5.00 bits
5.2%
LEARE 4.69 bits
4.1%
TRINE 4.55 bits
2.9%
ROANY 4.80 bits
2.9%
COAST 4.66 bits
2.7%
STINK 4.35 bits

Research on DEFIS

Game-tree analysis and word research for DEFIS, with an explanation for each figure.

Optimal play

Opening with DEFIS, a proven-optimal strategy averages 3.72 guesses and ranks #6,404 of 14,855 legal openers. The best proven opener, TARSE, averages 3.55.

No guaranteed hard-mode solve In hard mode, no strategy that opens with DEFIS can guarantee a solve within six guesses.

Our six-turn simulation says 3.70, at or below the proven-optimal 3.72, because the two figures score different answer lists.

These figures come from exhaustive game-tree search and are exact for the NYT lists of July 2023 (3,158 answers). They do not use the site's working answer pool.

How it sounds

Two syllables, stress on the first syllable Say it DEHFIHS. Estimated pronunciation

This pronunciation is machine-estimated, not taken from a pronunciation dictionary.

Sources: Optimal-play values: Alex Selby's exhaustive Wordle analysis (MIT); Pronunciation: CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (BSD), with machine estimates from the g2p_en model.