HomeContexto#1,445

Today's Contexto Answer

Stuck on puzzle #1,445? You're in the right place. An AI ranks every guess by how close it is in meaning, and rank #1 is the secret word. Take the hints one rung at a time, or drop straight to the word at rank one. Nothing spoils until you tap.

Puzzle #1,445 1 secret word Unlimited guesses

Hints, one at a time

Welcome back, puzzler. Contexto #1,445 is live. Unlike a letter-guessing game, Contexto ranks every word you type by how close it is in meaning to the secret word: the lower the number, the closer you are, and rank #1 is the answer itself.

Here's how this page works: the hints below start with the word's shape, then move to what it actually means and which words rank near it, so reveal them one at a time and stop the moment the topic clicks. The full word sits in the green box further down, locked behind a tap. Nothing here reveals itself on its own, not the topic and not the word at rank one.

Letters first, then meaning. Stop the moment the topic clicks.

1 The neighborhoodWhat kind of word are we even looking for? THICKENER sits at rank 300. That is not close, but it is the right part of the map: guess words that keep the company this one keeps.
2 Word lengthHow long is the word? It's a 7-letter word. Contexto never shows you this, so it rules out a lot of near-miss guesses.
3 Closing inSomething nearer than that? YVES ranks 200. Only 199 words in the language sit between it and the answer.
4 First letterA letter, since the game will never give you one. It starts with M.
5 Almost on itHow close can you get me? PRIMER ranks 50. At this range the answer is usually a near-synonym or the thing this word describes.
6 The rest of the lettersEverything else you can tell me about the spelling? It ends with A. Vowels: A. Consonants: M, S, C, R.

Drumroll, please…

Contexto Answer for #1,445

Spoiler below · tap to reveal

Tap a tile for one letter, or reveal the whole word at rank one.

Yesterday's answer (#1,444): HAVOC · full breakdown ›

About today's word MASCARA

Letter pattern

Starts with M, ends with A, and carries one vowel (A) against 4 consonant slots.

For word nerds

Worth 11 points in Scrabble before any bonus squares.

By the numbers

Puzzle #1,445, an 7-letter secret word.

The ranking model

Every guess is scored by an AI that measures semantic closeness, not spelling. Rank #1 is the answer.

The trail toward the answer
THICKENER · distance 300YVES · distance 200YOUNGBLOOD · distance 100PRIMER · distance 50

Contexto strategy that actually helps

Proven habits from top solvers, useful today and every day.

Open with different categories

Try an animal, a tool, a color, and a feeling as your first few guesses. The rankings tell you which territory to explore next.

Lower number, closer word

Rank 1 is the answer. Anything under 100 means you're in the right neighborhood; anything over 1,000 means try a different area entirely.

Follow your best guess

Once a word ranks under 200, guess its close synonyms next. The model rewards words that appear in similar contexts to the target.

Concrete nouns win often

Everyday objects, animals, foods, and places show up as answers more than abstract ideas. If your top guesses are abstract, try something tangible.

Try other word forms

If "run" ranks well, try "runner," "running," and "ran." Different forms can rank very differently and point you to the right spot.

Abandon a cold category fast

If every guess in one theme ranks above 500, move on. Doubling down on a bad area wastes guesses that could map new ground.

How to play Contexto

The rules in full, for anyone arriving without them.

Contexto hides one secret word and ranks every guess by how close it is in meaning, not in spelling. A language model has already sorted the entire dictionary by similarity to the answer, and your guess simply tells you where it landed in that ranking.

  1. 1 Guess any word

    Spelling, length, and letters are irrelevant. Only meaning counts.

  2. 2 Read the rank, not the color

    Rank 1 is the answer. Rank 300 means only 299 words in the language are closer. A rank in the thousands means you are in the wrong topic entirely.

  3. 3 Move by topic, not by synonym

    When a guess ranks well, try words from the same field rather than direct synonyms. Contexto measures the company a word keeps, so context beats definition.

  4. 4 Keep guessing until you hit rank 1

    There is no guess limit and no penalty. The score is simply how many guesses it took.

Made by

Contexto, an independent puzzle

The board

One secret word, ranked by an AI similarity model

Your limit

Unlimited guesses

Resets

Midnight in your local timezone

An obvious synonym ranking badly is normal and not a bug. The model learned from how words appear near each other in real text, so a word that shares a definition but never shares a sentence will rank far away.

Contexto, answered

Quick answers to the questions we get every day.

How often does a new Contexto puzzle come out?

Contexto publishes a new secret word roughly once a day. If the puzzle number above matches the latest game on contexto.me, you're looking at the current one.

What does the rank number actually mean?

An AI language model measures how closely each word you guess relates in meaning to the secret word, then sorts every word in its vocabulary by that closeness. Rank #1 is the secret word itself, and lower numbers always mean a closer match.

Why did an obvious synonym rank far away?

The model ranks by context, not dictionary meaning. Two words can mean similar things but appear in very different sentences, which can push a "correct feeling" guess surprisingly far down the list.

Can the answer be a proper noun or a plural?

No. Contexto answers are ordinary lowercase dictionary words, and the game works in lemma form, so plurals and conjugations collapse into their base word. Guessing "running" and "ran" scores the same as guessing "run", which means variations of a guess are wasted turns.

Is there a limit to how many guesses I get?

No. Contexto gives you unlimited guesses, so there's no penalty for exploring a category that turns out to be wrong. Take your time and follow the ranking.

Play on Contexto ↗

Today's hints for every game

Same spoiler-safe format, for each daily puzzle we cover.

Past Contexto answers

Recent secret words, organized by month. Dates are derived from each puzzle's number, since Contexto itself counts by puzzle rather than by date. Today's secret word stays blurred until you tap it.

DatePuzzleAnswer
Sep 03Today #1,445 MASCARA
Sep 02 #1,444 HAVOC
Sep 01 #1,443 UTENSIL
Aug 31 #1,442 POTION
Aug 30 #1,441 BANK
Aug 29 #1,440 GROUND
Aug 28 #1,439 CULINARY
Aug 27 #1,438 TARP
Aug 26 #1,437 APE
Aug 25 #1,436 CHIMNEY
Aug 24 #1,435 ADVERB
Aug 23 #1,434 MOLD
Aug 22 #1,433 FILET
Aug 21 #1,432 CHAMBER
Aug 20 #1,431 GLOVE
Aug 19 #1,430 CARDBOARD
Aug 18 #1,429 NOODLE
Aug 17 #1,428 EMBROIDERY
Aug 16 #1,427 JOURNAL
Aug 15 #1,426 CLONE
Aug 14 #1,425 POPSICLE
Aug 13 #1,424 ALARM
Aug 12 #1,423 SHORTCUT
Aug 11 #1,422 GOGGLE
Aug 10 #1,421 APPETIZER
Aug 09 #1,420 VACCINE
Aug 08 #1,419 COLLAR
Aug 07 #1,418 SALSA
Aug 06 #1,417 ARCH
Aug 05 #1,416 ROW
Aug 04 #1,415 OFFICER
Aug 03 #1,414 STY
Aug 02 #1,413 PENDULUM
Aug 01 #1,412 BOULEVARD
Jul 31 #1,411 FUDGE
Jul 30 #1,410 KNOT
Jul 29 #1,409 STORK
Jul 28 #1,408 COUCH
Jul 27 #1,407 KNUCKLE
Jul 26 #1,406 DIVER
Jul 25 #1,405 SPICE
Jul 24 #1,404 JAGUAR
Jul 23 #1,403 DRAIN
Jul 22 #1,402 ACTOR
Jul 21 #1,401 CELERY
Jul 20 #1,400 MESS
Jul 19 #1,399 SUPPER
Jul 15 #1,395 EVIDENCE
Jul 08 #1,388 WHISKER
Jul 07 #1,387 CEMENT
Jul 06 #1,386 HEADBOARD
Jul 05 #1,385 ORBIT
Jul 04 #1,384 GOSSIP
Jul 03 #1,383 NEWBORN
Jul 02 #1,382 CUP
Jul 01 #1,381 SPEECH
Jun 30 #1,380 PHARMACY
Jun 29 #1,379 SURFER
Jun 28 #1,378 AEROSOL
Jun 27 #1,377 SARDINE
Jun 26 #1,376 VENOM
Jun 25 #1,375 PUDDLE
Jun 24 #1,374 CROWBAR
Jun 23 #1,373 LOZENGE
Jun 22 #1,372 RHYTHM
Jun 21 #1,371 SAFE
Jun 20 #1,370 BLADE
Jun 19 #1,369 LOYALTY
Jun 18 #1,368 ARROW
Jun 17 #1,367 OTTER
Jun 16 #1,366 BLACKBOARD
Jun 15 #1,365 TURNIP
Jun 14 #1,364 PALACE
Jun 13 #1,363 BUCKLE
Jun 12 #1,362 CHEESECAKE
Jun 11 #1,361 QUAIL
Jun 10 #1,360 PROPELLER
Jun 09 #1,359 FERRY
Jun 08 #1,358 KALE
Jun 07 #1,357 DIALOG
Jun 06 #1,356 CONCRETE
Jun 05 #1,355 MANUAL
Jun 04 #1,354 FANG
Jun 03 #1,353 GAZELLE
Jun 02 #1,352 AMETHYST
Jun 01 #1,351 DRUPE
May 31 #1,350 FOUNTAIN
May 30 #1,349 GERBIL
May 29 #1,348 TWIN
May 28 #1,347 CARTILAGE
May 27 #1,346 FELINE
May 26 #1,345 DRUGSTORE
May 25 #1,344 MAZE
May 24 #1,343 NURSE
May 23 #1,342 CORAL
May 22 #1,341 ALLOY
May 21 #1,340 PLATYPUS
May 20 #1,339 CEILING
May 19 #1,338 AIR
May 18 #1,337 KAYAK
May 17 #1,336 PERSIMMON
May 16 #1,335 COMPASS
May 15 #1,334 FINE
May 14 #1,333 PEPPERONI
May 13 #1,332 EYEPATCH
May 12 #1,331 CIDER
May 10 #1,329 DINOSAUR
May 08 #1,327 ERA
May 07 #1,326 COUGH
May 06 #1,325 FIREWORK
May 05 #1,324 PELICAN
May 04 #1,323 SPONGE
May 03 #1,322 PERK
May 02 #1,321 WIZARD
May 01 #1,320 BRONZE
Apr 30 #1,319 WALRUS
Apr 29 #1,318 SAUCER
Apr 28 #1,317 COCONUT
Apr 27 #1,316 GYMNASTIC
Apr 26 #1,315 BAGEL