Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

WILDFIRE

DEFINITION:
An unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but a long drought, low humidity and strong winds were fueling them.
The Key West Citizen, 04/27/2026

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Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words

Click on the correct answer in the quiz below.
Then see if you can find the word in your newspaper -- the print edition, the website or the digital edition and copy the sentence for context. NOTE: High School words are much harder to find!


1. Bizarre

An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze.

Harmful, malevolent, injurious. Harmfully cancerous.

Strikingly unconventional and far-fetched in style or appearance; odd

A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption.


2. Vaccine

A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.

Of or relating to the range of invisible radiation wavelengths from about 4 nanometers, on the border of the x-ray region, to about 380 nanometers, just beyond the violet in the visible spectrum.

A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen.

Enforced isolation or restriction of free movement imposed to prevent the spread of contagious disease.


3. Guerrilla

The drawing of a conclusion by reasoning; the act of deducing.

A member of an irregular, usually indigenous military or paramilitary unit operating in small bands in occupied territory to harass and undermine the enemy

A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

A cult or religious movement, a group sharing particular (often unorthodox) political and/or religious beliefs.


4. Gargoyle

One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.

A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

The systematic procedure by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished.

Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels used for pleasure cruises or racing.


5. Boisterous

Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.

A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

Loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline

A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,


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Common Core State Standard
LS.CCS.4/5/6 Grades 3-12: Students are asked to determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words through multiple choice vocabulary quizzes. Quizzes are designed to help students demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in words, acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words, and gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Students are then asked to find the words within the newspaper and copy the sentence for context to its overall meaning or function in a sentence.