Natal—players are furious as Wordle picks another hard word

The word 'natal' was the answer to Wordle 290, and although some players are very familiar with this word, others have been totally stumped by the challenge.

Wordle has been known to throw a few curveballs at players and put words such as 'lowly' and 'shawl' as answers for the daily word game, and Wordle 290 was no different.

The word 'natal' stumped various players who were completely thrown by the word, some genuinely having no idea what the word means. After the curveball, many players have lost their streaks and some have even sworn off the game forever.

"Wordle 290 6/6 What the f**k is a 'Natal'" said one player on social media. 

"WHAT??? WHAT??? THIS ONE ISNT EVEN ENGLISH Wordle 290 5/6," said another. "Wordle 290 X 6/6 | why wordle why..." added one disheartened fan.  

Other players found a more comical side to this discussion. "Wordle really needed some post natal care today," said one player on Twitter.

"Today's wordle is Natal just to p**s you off," said another player.

Despite confusion from some fans, many players insisted that this was a simple challenge that they could handle with ease.

"Thought today's Wordle was relatively easy. Wordle 290 2/6," said one confident player.

"Wordle 290 4/6 my roomies said this one was hard but tbh. kinda easy," said another fan.

What does 'natal' mean?

The word natal is most commonly associated with birth. Key examples of this would be the terms 'pre-natal' or 'post-natal' which refer to times that take place before or after birth. This is also why you have 'natal care' which refers exclusively to care around childbirth, both during pregnancy and after the child is delivered.

Another common use refers to a native location. An example of this could be, 'the sea turtles return to their natal beaches.' This would imply that certain turtles go back to the place where they were born, where they originally came from.

If you struggled to correctly guess 'natal' today, you are not alone! To get better at this game there are plenty of Wordle tips, and Wordle hacks that can help players improve their scores and get their streaks back on track.