Today’s NYT Wordle for Tuesday, July 21, 2026, is puzzle #1858. The answer is a familiar English word, but its meaning may be easier to recognise than its spelling.
Use the hints below one at a time before revealing the answer. The clues become gradually more helpful without exposing the full letter pattern too early.
Wordle hints for July 21
- Hint 1: Today’s answer can be used as both a noun and a verb.
- Hint 2: In one common meaning, it describes a person.
- Hint 3: The word often appears in discussions about advertising, marketing, reviews or online promotion.
- Hint 4: This person may appear independent while secretly supporting a company, product, service or idea.
- Hint 5: Today’s answer begins with the letter S.
Final clue: Think of someone whose public praise may not be completely genuine because they have a hidden connection or personal interest.
Solving tip: Today’s puzzle becomes easier once you identify the type of person being described. Focus on the meaning before trying to force a particular letter pattern.
Try the Wordle practice game
Enter any five-letter word below. Green tiles show a correct letter in the correct position, yellow tiles show a correct letter in the wrong position, and gray tiles identify letters that do not appear in today’s answer.
How difficult is Wordle #1858?
Wordle #1858 is moderately difficult because the answer is more common in discussions about advertising, online reviews and public promotion than in everyday conversation.
Many players may recognise the definition before finding the exact spelling. The clue about hidden support or undisclosed promotion is therefore more useful than simply testing additional vowels.
The answer may also be difficult for players who rely heavily on broad starter words. Once the likely meaning becomes clear, using the confirmed letters to search for a person or role should narrow the possibilities.
General Wordle tip: When a clue points toward a profession, role or type of person, think about vocabulary categories as well as individual letters. Meaning-based elimination can often solve a puzzle faster than random letter testing.
Today’s Wordle answer
Click to reveal the answer for Wordle #1858
Today’s Wordle answer is SHILL.
A shill is someone who promotes a person, company, product or service while hiding a personal, professional or financial connection. The individual may appear to be an ordinary customer, audience member or independent supporter.
The complete spelling is S-H-I-L-L.
The answer begins with S and contains the vowel I. The consonant L appears twice in the fourth and fifth positions.
The repeated ending may have been the most difficult part of the solution. Players often begin with words containing five different letters, so finding one L does not necessarily make the second L obvious.
As a verb, shill means to promote, advertise or praise something, especially when the speaker does not openly disclose their motive or connection.
The word is now frequently used in discussions about fake reviews, undisclosed sponsorships, social media endorsements, financial promotions and coordinated online campaigns.
Historically, the term was associated with an accomplice who pretended to be an enthusiastic customer or participant in order to encourage other people to spend money, place bets or trust a seller.
Pronunciation: SHILL is pronounced “shil” and rhymes with “fill,” “still” and “will.”
Example sentence: Readers accused the supposedly independent reviewer of acting as a shill for the company.
Why the puzzle was tricky: SHILL contains a less obvious double-letter ending, and its meaning is more common in media, marketing and internet discussions than in everyday speech.
Players can attempt the official daily puzzle and review their statistics on the New York Times Wordle page.
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