rated R₁A₁T₁E₁D₂

RATED is the past tense of rate, and it also serves as an adjective for anything judged, ranked or classified, from films to credit risks. Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE all accept it. Its neighbourhood is crowded: five anagrams and 23 words one letter away.

RATED by the numbers

• Letters: A, D, E, R and T, with only the D scoring above 1.
• Base Scrabble value: 6 points.
• Wordle status: allowed guess, not an answer.
• Anagrams: TRADE, TREAD, DATER, TARED and DERAT.
• One-letter neighbours: 23, led by RATES, DATED, HATED and RACED.

Should you guess RATED in Wordle?

RATED is accepted as a guess but will never be the answer, so it works only as a probe. Its letters are strong ones, though: R, A, T, E and D all turn up constantly in five-letter words. Played early, it tests five common letters in a single turn, which narrows the field fast even when no tile lands green.

The catch is the five anagrams. TRADE and TREAD are the ones you are likely to meet, and a guess of RATED cannot separate them from each other, so follow it with a word that fixes the position of R and A.

Which RATED anagram is the safest play?

All five rearrangements score 6, so choose by what the board accepts. TRADE and TREAD are everyday words that every list takes. DATER, TARED and DERAT are less familiar and carry more risk when an opponent challenges.

With 23 one-letter neighbours, RATED also hooks easily. Add an S to RATE to get RATES, or change the D for an R and you have RATER, which a challenger is unlikely to take down. DATED, HATED and FATED all reuse the ATED tail.

Frequency note