Today's Wordle 541 answer and hint for Monday, December 12

Whether you need a quick hint for today's Wordle, some general tips and advice for your daily game, or you need the answer to the December 12 (541) puzzle as quickly as possible for your win streak's sake, you'll find everything you need and plenty more on this very page.

I ended up just one letter off on my last go today, although the rare greens and yellows I'd had to fight to scrape together made that loss still feel like something of a minor victory. I may not have got today's Wordle in time, but I had managed to turn what had been a complete wash into almost a win, and that'll do for now. 

Wordle hint

A Wordle hint for Monday, December 12

Today's answer is used often and broadly. This word can mean to be relevant to the current situation. It is also used when someone formally requests something in a written letter—such as a job. Elsewhere the word is used when something is added to a surface, such as paint to a wall, or polish to a nail. One of today's consonants is used twice. 

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.

Today's Wordle answer

What is the Wordle 541 answer?

Let's start your week with a win. The answer to the December 12 (541) Wordle is APPLY. 

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:

• December 11: NAIVE
• December 10: KNOCK
• December 9: BRAID
• December 8: INFER
• December 7: JOUST
• December 6: AMBER
• December 5: WOKEN
• December 4: ADORE
• December 3: TORSO
• December 2: CHAFE

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.