Buzz Words

Expand your vocabulary with Buzz Words!

When recounting their adventures,
the TIMEFLIES like to use BIG words!

In this Buzz Words section, you'll find vocabulary definitions, crosswords, word searches, and word match activities.

Educational Materials for Download

Classroom-ready activities are the perfect compliment to the TIMEFLIES books.

Printable PDF's include definitions, crosswords, word searches, and word match activities as well as answer keys.

Vocabulary Definitions from TIMEFLIES: The Maiden Voyage*

A - E

Accustom - verb make psychologically or physically used to something

Ajar - adj. slightly open

Alcoholism - noun habitual intoxication; prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol such that abrupt deprivation leads to severe withdrawal symptoms; an intense persistent desire to drink alcoholic beverages to excess

Allure - verb dispose or incline or entice to

Amber - adj. of a medium to dark brownish yellow color; noun a deep yellow color; a hard yellowish to brownish translucent fossil resin; used for jewelry

Ample - adj. affording an abundant supply; more than enough in size or scope or capacity; fairly large

Antenna* - noun one of a pair of mobile appendages on the head of e.g. insects and crustaceans; typically sensitive to touch and taste; 

Appease - verb make peace with; overcome or allay; cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of

Appliance* - noun durable goods for home or office use 

Appreciation* - noun understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something; an expression of gratitude; a favorable judgment

Aroma - noun a distinctive odor that is pleasant; any property detected by the olfactory system

Asylum* - noun a hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced person 

Bellow* - noun shout loudly and without restraint

Bizarre - adj. conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

Bombard* - verb address with continuously or persistently, as if with a barrage

Burly - adj. muscular and heavily built

Charade* - noun an absurd pretense intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance

Cobbler* - noun made of fruit with rich biscuit dough usually only on top of the fruit

Commotion - noun the act of making a noisy disturbance; confused movement; a disorderly outburst or tumult

Compassion - noun the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it; a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering

Compel - verb force or make someone do something

Concede* - verb be willing to admit, acknowledge defeat 

Concentrate* -adj a substance present in a high proportion

Conclusion* - noun an intuitive assumption; the proposition arrived at by logical reasoning 

Console* - verb give moral or emotional strength to

Contemplate* - verb think intently and at length

Decipher* - verb succeed in understanding, interpreting, or identifying (something)

Detect - verb discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of

Digestive - adj. relating to or having the power to cause or promote digestion; noun any substance that promotes digestion

Diligent - adj. characterized by care and perseverance in carrying out tasks; quietly and steadily persevering especially in detail or exactness

Discreet - adj. marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint; heedful of potential consequences; unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic

Distort - verb alter the shape of (something) by stress; make false by mutilation or addition; as of a message or story; affect as in thought or feeling; form into a spiral shape; twist and press out of shape

Doggedly - adv. with obstinate determination

Don - verb put on (an item of clothing).

Dramatic - adj. suitable to or characteristic of drama; sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect; used of a singer or singing voice that is marked by power and expressiveness and a histrionic or theatrical style; pertaining to or characteristic of drama

Earshot - noun the range within which a voice can be heard

Elaborate* - adj. marked by complexity and richness of detail 

Emanate* - verb originate from; be produced by.Embolden - verb give encouragement to

Emphasize - verb to stress, single out as important; give extra weight to (a communication)

Enriching - verb improve or enhance the quality or value of.

Enthusiasm - noun a lively interest; a feeling of excitement; overflowing with eager enjoyment or approval

Entrant* - noun someone who enters

Epic* - adj. very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale)  

Epiphany* - noun a moment of sudden revelation or insight

Exasperate - verb make worse; make furious; exasperate or irritate

Exhilarate - verb fill with sublime emotion

Extinguish* - verb put out, as of fires, flames, or lights

Extraordinary - adj. far more than usual or expected; beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable

G - N

Facial* - adj. of or pertaining to the outside surface of an object; of or concerning the face

Filter* - noun device that removes something from whatever passes through it; an electrical device that alters the frequency spectrum of signals passing through it

Flannel* - noun a soft light woolen fabric; used for clothing

Fluorescent* -  noun a lighting fixture that uses a fluorescent lamp

Flutter* - noun the act of moving back and forth; the motion made by flapping up and down;  verb flag the wings rapidly or fly with flapping movements

Flyswatter - noun an implement with a flat part (of mesh or plastic) and a long handle; used to kill insects

Formation* - noun a particular spatial arrangement; an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit

Forthcoming* - adj. available when required or as promised; of the relatively near future 

Fragment - noun an incomplete piece; a piece broken off or cut off of something else; a broken piece of a brittle artifact; verb break or cause to break into pieces

Frantically - adv. in an uncontrolled manner

Frigid* - adj. extremely cold 

Generation* - noun a set of members of a family regarded as a single step or stage in descent.

Ginormous - adj.  extremely large; enormous.

Grim* - adj. depressing or worrying to consider.

Gullible - adj. easily tricked because of being too trusting; naive and easily deceived or tricked

Halter* - noun either of the rudimentary hind wings of dipterous insects; used for maintaining equilibrium during flight

Idiom* - noun an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up

Illuminate* - verb make lighter or brighter

Incensed - adj. angered at something unjust or wrong

Incredulity - noun doubt about the truth of something

Initiate* -  verb take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of; bring up a topic for discussion

Innate* - adj. not established by conditioning or learning

Innocent* - noun a person who lacks knowledge of evil

Instinctive - adj. unthinking; prompted by (or as if by) instinct

Intensity* - noun high level or degree; the property of being intense

Intercept* -  verb seize on its way 

Involuntarily - adv. against your will

Iridescent - adj. showing luminous colours that seem to change when seen from different angles

Itinerary* - noun a proposed route of travel

Jostle - verb come into rough contact with while moving; make one's way by jostling, pushing, or shoving

Jurassic* - adj. of or relating to or denoting the second period of the Mesozoic era; noun from 190 million to 135 million years ago; dinosaurs; 

Labellum* - noun each of a pair of lobes at the tip of the proboscis in some insects

Liberate* - verb grant freedom to; grant freedom to; free from confinement

Liquefy - verb become liquid or fluid when heated; make (a solid substance) liquid, as by heating; become liquid

Littered - adj. filled or scattered with a disorderly accumulation of objects or rubbish

Lopsided - adj. having one side lower or smaller or lighter than the other; turned or twisted toward one side

Manoeuvre* - noun a movement or series of moves requiring skill and care

Maxillary palp - noun small antenna-like sensory appendage emerging from the maxilla, Jointed, sensory structure found on the maxillae of an insect

Meekly - adv. in a submissive or spiritless manner; in a humble manner

Melodic - adj. of or relating to melody; containing or constituting or characterized by pleasing melody

Menace* - noun a threat or the act of threatening; something that is a source of danger

Meticulous - adj. marked by extreme care in treatment of details; marked by precise accordance with details

Metronome - noun clicking pendulum indicates the exact tempo of a piece of music

Miniature* - adj. being on a very small scale

Minuscule* - adj. very small;

Minute* - adj.  infinitely or immeasurably small 

Mischievous* - adj. naughtily or annoyingly playful

Misgiving - noun doubt about someone's honesty; painful expectation; uneasiness about the fitness of an action

Momentum - noun the product of a body's mass and its velocity; an impelling force or strength

Morsel - noun a small amount of solid food; a mouthful; a small quantity of anything

Mundane* - adj.  found in the ordinary course of events

Namesake - noun a person with the same name as another

Nearsighted - adj. unable to see distant objects clearly

Neglect - noun fail to care for properly, not pay proper attention to; disregard.

Nonplussed - adj. filled with bewilderment

Obedience - noun behavior intended to please your parents; the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person; the trait of being willing to obey

Oblivious - adj. (followed by `to' or `of') lacking conscious awareness of; failing to keep in mind

Ocelli - noun a small eye of an insect or other arthropod that has only one lens, typically present in one or more pairs.

Occupant - noun someone who lives at a particular place for a prolonged period or who was born there

Ominous - adj. giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen; threatening; inauspicious.

Omit - verb leave undone or leave out; prevent from being included or considered or accepted

Ottoman* - adj.  a low seat or a stool to rest the feet of a seated person

O - Z

Paralyze - verb cause to be paralyzed and immobile; make powerless and unable to function

Parliament* - noun a legislative assembly in certain countries 

Peculiar - adj. characteristic of one only; distinctive or special; markedly different from the usual; beyond or deviating from the usual or expected 

Perception - noun the process of perceiving; knowledge gained by perceiving; a way of conceiving something; becoming aware of something via the senses; the representation of what is perceived; basic component in the formation of a concept

Perch* -  an elevated place serving as a seat 

Peripheral* - adj. relating to or situated on the edge or periphery of something

Perplex - verb (of something complicated or unaccountable) cause (someone) to feel completely baffled.

Pervasive - adj. spreading or spread throughout

Phony* - adj. fraudulent; having a misleading appearance Pique* - verb stimulate (interest or curiosity).

Possessive - adj. desirous of owning; having or showing a desire to control or dominate; serving to express or indicate possession 

Predicament - noun a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one

Proboscis - noun a long flexible snout as of an elephant; (in many insects) an elongated sucking mouth part that is typically tubular and flexible

Profuse - adj. produced or growing in extreme abundance

Pseudotrachea – noun one of a series of chitinoustubes in the labella of dipterans (suborder Brachycera) through which liquid food is taken into the mouth

Pulvilli- noun pads often covered with short hairs or an organ or process resembling or functioning like a cushion or sucker that occurs on an insect's foot between the claws of the last segment and often forms an adhesive organ

Quench* - verb satisfy thirst 

Query* - verb put a question or questions to (someone). 

Rapid-fire* - adj. (especially of something said in dialogue or done in a sequence) unhesitating and rapid.

Reflective - adj. capable of physically reflecting light or sound 

Regimen - noun (medicine) a systematic plan for therapy(often including diet)

Regurgitate* - verb eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth

Reluctantly - adv. in anunwilling and hesitant way.

Reprimand - noun an act or expression of criticism and censure; verb rebuke formally; censure severely or angrily
Resemble - verb appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to

Resume* - verb take up or begin anew

Robotic* - adj.(of a person) mechanical, stiff, or unemotional

Salivate - verb secretesaliva, especially in anticipation of food.

Scam* - verb deprive of by deceit

Servant - noun a person working in the service of another(especially in the household); in a subordinate position

Silhouette* - noun a drawing of the outline of an object;filled in with some uniform color; an outline of a solid object (as cast by its shadow);  

Simultaneous - adj. occurring or operating at the same time

Slur* - verb speak (words or speech) indistinctly so that the sounds run into one another. 

Soil* - adj. make dirty with dirt or grime

Solemn* - adj.  not cheerful or smiling; serious.

Somber* - adj. grave or even gloomy in character 

Spontaneous - adj. happening or arising without apparent external cause; said or done without having been planned or written in advance

Stagger* - verb walk or move unsteadily, as if about to fall.

Stock-still - adj. absolutely still; adv. without moving or making a sound

Stoic* - adj. seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain;impassive; someone who is seemingly indifferent to emotions

Supportive - adj. furnishing support or assistance

Surly - adj. inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace

Surrogate* - adj. providing or receiving nurture or parental care though not related by blood or legal ties 

Suspend* - verb cause to be held in suspension in a fluid 

Swindle*- verb use deception to deprive (someone) of money or possessions. 

Tarsi* - noun plural form of tarsus the foot or fifth joint of the leg of an insect or other arthropod, typically consisting of several small segments and ending in a claw.

Tempting - adj. very pleasantly inviting 

Tenacious - adj.  stubbornly unyielding

Theory* - noun a belief that can guide behavior; a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world 

Towering - adj. of imposing height; especially standing out above others

Trajectory - noun the path followed by an object moving through space

Trigger* - noun an act that sets in motion some course of events; a device that activates or releases or causes something to happen 

Unison* - noun occurring together or simultaneously; corresponding exactly

Vegetarian - noun eater of fruits and grains and nuts;someone who eats no meat or fish or (often) any animal products

Vehement - adj. characterized by great force or energy; marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid

Veritable - adj. not counterfeit or copied; used as an intensifier, often to qualify a metaphor.

Vigorous* - adj. characterized by forceful and energetic action or activity 

Voracious* - adj. wanting or devouring great quantities of food.

Vow - noun a solemn pledge to do something or to behave in a certain manner

Waft* - verb be driven or carried along, as by the air; blow gently

Wistful - adj. having or showinga feeling of vague or regretful longing.

Witness* - verb have knowledge of (an event or change) from personal observation or experience.


 

*Indicates words with multiple definitions. The definitions listed are those in context with usage in TIMEFLIES: The Maiden Voyage

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