"A Sound of Thunder"

Mackenzie S. (United States of America)
Hoping to hunt dinosaurs, Eckels hires Time Safari Inc. to take him back in time — but when he disobeys his guide's instructions, he puts the entire future in jeopardy.

Here are links to our lists for other works by Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, All Summer in a Day, August 2026, Marionettes, Inc., The Black Ferris, The Drummer Boy of Shiloh, The Flying Machine, The Pedestrian, The Veldt
15 words 20 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. finicky
    fussy, especially about details
    A Time Machine is finicky business.
  2. expendable
    suitable to be used up
    And the caveman, please note, is not just any expendable man, no!
  3. infinitesimal
    immeasurably small
    Crushing certain plants could add up infinitesimally.
  4. bisect
    cut in half or cut in two
    "Up ahead, We'll bisect his trail in sixty seconds.
  5. stagnate
    exist in a changeless situation
    They gazed back at the ruined Monster, the stagnating mound, where already strange reptilian birds and golden insects were busy at the steaming armor.
  6. primeval
    having existed from the beginning
    Eckels turned slowly to regard the primeval garbage dump, that hill of nightmares and terror.
  7. subliminal
    below the threshold of conscious perception
    Eckels stood smelling of the air, and there was a thing to the air, a chemical taint so subtle, so slight, that only a faint cry of his subliminal senses warned him it was there.
  8. aurora
    bands of light caused by charged solar particles
  9. graft
    the practice of offering something for an illegal advantage
  10. wax
    increase, rise, or advance
  11. mail
    (Middle Ages) flexible armor made of interlinked metal rings
  12. moor
    come into or dock at a wharf
  13. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
  14. temperament
    your usual mood
  15. annihilate
    kill in large numbers
Created on Thu Apr 09 14:58:45 EDT 2026

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.