NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 28, 2021

calendar Aug 28, 2021 · 11 min read · spelling bee  ·
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Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for August 28, 2021
Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for August 28, 2021

Game Summary

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for August 28, 2021
Center LetterI
Outer Lettersd, e, f, g, n, y
# of Pangrams3 (Perfect: 1)
Total Words72 words
Total Points431 points
Genius Level302 points
Bingo?Yes

Table of Contents

As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!

  1. Spelling Bee Grid
  2. Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
  3. Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
  4. Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
  5. Today's Complete Solution
  6. Answer Definitions

If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for August 28, 2021

Spelling Bee Grid

The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.

4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>10Σ
D356932129
E-2721--12
F44341--16
G-311---5
I122-1--6
N11-1---3
Y---1---1
Σ917191862172

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.

D
DE×15
DI×12
DY×2
E
ED×6
EF×1
EG×1
EN×2
EY×2
F
FE×5
FI×11
G
GE×2
GI×3
I
IF×1
IN×5
N
NE×1
NI×2
Y
YE×1

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.

D
DEE×1
DEF×6
DEI×6
DEN×2
DIE×1
DIG×4
DIN×7
DYE×1
DYI×1
E
EDD×2
EDG×1
EDI×3
EFF×1
EGG×1
END×1
ENG×1
EYE×1
EYI×1
F
FEE×1
FEI×3
FEN×1
FIE×2
FIF×3
FIN×6
G
GEN×2
GID×1
GIN×2
I
IFF×1
IND×3
INN×2
N
NEE×1
NIN×2
Y
YEN×1

Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)

The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.

Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.

Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).

Word2L RefDefinition (click to reveal)
de.....DE7present participle of deed
de.......DE9present participle and gerund of defend
de....DE6simple past tense and past participle of defy
de....DE6To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
de.....DE7Having a definition or value.
de......DE8present participle of define
de..... †DE7present participle of defy
de.....DE7simple past tense and past participle of deify
de...DE5To make a god of (something or someone).
de...... †DE8present participle of deify
de...DE5To condescend; to do despite a perceived affront to one's dignity.
de.....DE7simple past tense and past participle of deign
de......DE8present participle of deign
de....DE6simple past tense and past participle of deny
de.....DE7present participle of deny
di..DI4simple past tense and past participle of die
di.....DI7The action performed by a person or thing that digs.
di.......DI9Having an attitude or bearing that connotes respectability and poise.
di.....DI7To invest with dignity or honour.
di........DI10present participle of dignify
di..DI4To eat; to eat dinner or supper.
di...DI5simple past tense and past participle of dine
di..DI4Very minor damage, a small dent or chip.
di....DI6simple past tense and past participle of ding
di.....DI7present participle of ding
di...DI5dark, dull
di....DI6Eating dinner as a social function.
dy....DY6present participle of dye
dy...DY5Approaching death; about to die; moribund.
ed....ED6simple past tense and past participle of eddy
ed.....ED7present participle of eddy
ed....ED6present participle of edge
ed.....ED7simple past tense and past participle of edify
ed...ED5To build, construct.
ed...... †ED8That educates, informs, illuminates or instructs.
ef....EF6A dummy or other crude representation of a person, group or object that is hated.
eg....EG6present participle of egg
en....EN6A termination or conclusion.
en....EN6A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc.
ey....EY6present participle of eye
ey...EY5present participle of eye
fe.....FE7present participle of feed
fe...FE5To make a false show or pretence of; to counterfeit or simulate.
fe.....FE7Being a pretense, a counterfeit, or something false or fraudulent.
fe......FE8present participle of feign
fe.....FE7present participle of fend
fi..FI4An estate held by a person on condition of providing military service to a superior.
fi...FI5A devil or demon; a malignant or diabolical being; an evil spirit.
fi..FI4A small shrill pipe, resembling the piccolo flute, used chiefly to accompany the drum in military music
fi...FI5simple past tense and past participle of fife
fi....FI6present participle of fife
fi..FI4To locate To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
fi.....FI7A result of research or an investigation.
fi..FI4Senses referring to subjective quality. Of superior quality.
fi...FI5simple past tense and past participle of fine
fi....FI6present participle of fine
fi....FI6Having fins.
ge...GE5A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally invisible to the human eye, but who may also appear in animal or human form.
ge...GE5plural of genius; guardian spirits
gi...GI5Feeling a sense of spinning in the head, causing a perception of unsteadiness and being about to fall down; dizzy.
gi....GI6simple past tense and past participle of gin
gi.....GI7present participle of gin
if..IF4Of dubious authenticity, legitimacy or legality.
in....IN6Truly; in fact; actually.
in...IN5Independent; from outside the mainstream.
in......IN8Indigenous.
in...IN5A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
in....IN6A period of play in which members of a visiting baseball team attempt to hit a baseball pitched by the opposing home team until three players are called out, followed by a similar attempt by members of the home baseball team against the visiting team's pitching. There are nine or more innings in a regulation baseball game.
ne.....NE7present participle of need
ni..NI4NATO &amp; ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9.
ni...NI5A silly or foolish person.
ye.....YE7present participle of yen

Today's Complete Solution

The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.

Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.

  • deeding  (DE7)
  • defending  (DE9)
  • defied  (DE6)
  • define  (DE6)
  • defined  (DE7)
  • defining  (DE8)
  • defying†  (DE7)
  • deified  (DE7)
  • deify  (DE5)
  • deifying†  (DE8)
  • deign  (DE5)
  • deigned  (DE7)
  • deigning  (DE8)
  • denied  (DE6)
  • denying  (DE7)
  • died  (DI4)
  • digging  (DI7)
  • dignified  (DI9)
  • dignify  (DI7)
  • dignifying  (DI10)
  • dine  (DI4)
  • dined  (DI5)
  • ding  (DI4)
  • dinged  (DI6)
  • dinging  (DI7)
  • dingy  (DI5)
  • dining  (DI6)
  • dyeing  (DY6)
  • dying  (DY5)
  • eddied  (ED6)
  • eddying  (ED7)
  • edging  (ED6)
  • edified  (ED7)
  • edify  (ED5)
  • edifying†  (ED8)
  • effigy  (EF6)
  • egging  (EG6)
  • ending  (EN6)
  • engine  (EN6)
  • eyeing  (EY6)
  • eying  (EY5)
  • feeding  (FE7)
  • feign  (FE5)
  • feigned  (FE7)
  • feigning  (FE8)
  • fending  (FE7)
  • fief  (FI4)
  • fiend  (FI5)
  • fife  (FI4)
  • fifed  (FI5)
  • fifing  (FI6)
  • find  (FI4)
  • finding  (FI7)
  • fine  (FI4)
  • fined  (FI5)
  • fining  (FI6)
  • finned  (FI6)
  • genie  (GE5)
  • genii  (GE5)
  • giddy  (GI5)
  • ginned  (GI6)
  • ginning  (GI7)
  • iffy  (IF4)
  • indeed  (IN6)
  • indie  (IN5)
  • indigene  (IN8)
  • innie  (IN5)
  • inning  (IN6)
  • needing  (NE7)
  • nine  (NI4)
  • ninny  (NI5)
  • yenning  (YE7)

Answer Definitions

  • deeding (verb): present participle of deed
  • defending (verb): present participle and gerund of defend
  • defied (verb): simple past tense and past participle of defy
  • define (verb): To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
  • defined (adjective): Having a definition or value.
  • defining (verb): present participle of define
  • defying† (verb): present participle of defy
  • deified (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deify
  • deify (verb): To make a god of (something or someone).
  • deifying† (verb): present participle of deify
  • deign (verb): To condescend; to do despite a perceived affront to one's dignity.
  • deigned (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deign
  • deigning (verb): present participle of deign
  • denied (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deny
  • denying (verb): present participle of deny
  • died (verb): simple past tense and past participle of die
  • digging (noun): The action performed by a person or thing that digs.
  • dignified (adjective): Having an attitude or bearing that connotes respectability and poise.
  • dignify (verb): To invest with dignity or honour.
  • dignifying (verb): present participle of dignify
  • dine (verb): To eat; to eat dinner or supper.
  • dined (verb): simple past tense and past participle of dine
  • ding (noun): Very minor damage, a small dent or chip.
  • dinged (verb): simple past tense and past participle of ding
  • dinging (verb): present participle of ding
  • dingy (adjective): dark, dull
  • dining (noun): Eating dinner as a social function.
  • dyeing (verb): present participle of dye
  • dying (adjective): Approaching death; about to die; moribund.
  • eddied (verb): simple past tense and past participle of eddy
  • eddying (verb): present participle of eddy
  • edging (verb): present participle of edge
  • edified (verb): simple past tense and past participle of edify
  • edify (verb): To build, construct.
  • edifying† (adjective): That educates, informs, illuminates or instructs.
  • effigy (noun): A dummy or other crude representation of a person, group or object that is hated.
  • egging (verb): present participle of egg
  • ending (noun): A termination or conclusion.
  • engine (noun): A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc.
  • eyeing (verb): present participle of eye
  • eying (verb): present participle of eye
  • feeding (verb): present participle of feed
  • feign (verb): To make a false show or pretence of; to counterfeit or simulate.
  • feigned (adjective): Being a pretense, a counterfeit, or something false or fraudulent.
  • feigning (verb): present participle of feign
  • fending (verb): present participle of fend
  • fief (noun): An estate held by a person on condition of providing military service to a superior.
  • fiend (noun): A devil or demon; a malignant or diabolical being; an evil spirit.
  • fife (noun): A small shrill pipe, resembling the piccolo flute, used chiefly to accompany the drum in military music
  • fifed (verb): simple past tense and past participle of fife
  • fifing (verb): present participle of fife
  • find (verb): To locate To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
  • finding (noun): A result of research or an investigation.
  • fine (adjective): Senses referring to subjective quality. Of superior quality.
  • fined (verb): simple past tense and past participle of fine
  • fining (verb): present participle of fine
  • finned (adjective): Having fins.
  • genie (noun): A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally invisible to the human eye, but who may also appear in animal or human form.
  • genii (noun): plural of genius; guardian spirits
  • giddy (adjective): Feeling a sense of spinning in the head, causing a perception of unsteadiness and being about to fall down; dizzy.
  • ginned (verb): simple past tense and past participle of gin
  • ginning (verb): present participle of gin
  • iffy (adjective): Of dubious authenticity, legitimacy or legality.
  • indeed (adverb): Truly; in fact; actually.
  • indie (adjective): Independent; from outside the mainstream.
  • indigene (adjective): Indigenous.
  • innie (noun): A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
  • inning (noun): A period of play in which members of a visiting baseball team attempt to hit a baseball pitched by the opposing home team until three players are called out, followed by a similar attempt by members of the home baseball team against the visiting team's pitching. There are nine or more innings in a regulation baseball game.
  • needing (verb): present participle of need
  • nine (numeral): NATO &amp; ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9.
  • ninny (noun): A silly or foolish person.
  • yenning (verb): present participle of yen