Mix 1 part your own will with 1 part our help for the ultimate Wordle success.

But before we get to the hints and solution for the Thursday, September 4 puzzle, let's go over the basics of Wordle.

Wordle is a word puzzle that gives players six chances to guess a five-letter word. Originally created by software engineer Josh Wardle and released to the public in 2021, the puzzle was acquired by The New York Times in 2022 after rising to huge popularity.

Players can pick any "starter word" to begin the puzzle. From there, blocks will turn green when the right letter is in the right place, yellow when the right letter is in the wrong place and gray when the letter doesn't exist in the puzzle.

The Times' Wordle editor Tracy Bennett told TODAY.com in a 2023 interview that she didn't think "any word is a bad choice." After analyzing 515 million games in 2023, the New York Times' Wordlebot recommended "trace" as a solid go-to starter word for any day.

You can play Wordle for free, though to save your statistics and see deeper analysis, you'll need a New York Times Games subscription or a full New York Times subscription.

Below are the clues and hints for today's Wordle answer. Plus, find the answer to puzzle #1538 at the bottom.

As a noun, this word refers "to a mixture made up of different elements." As a verb, this word means "to mix, merge, or unite."

The solution to today's Wordle puzzle will appear under this image. Proceed with caution.

"Blend"

The definitions for the above word are from Webster's New World College Dictionary.