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. Impertinent

A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

A weather phenomenon in the Eastern Pacific that is precisely equivalent to a hurricane.

To honor the memory of with a ceremony

Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold


2. Formidable

The act of resting or the state of being at rest.

Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder

A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.

Not subject to an obligation imposed on others; exempt.


3. Tariff

Not subject to an obligation imposed on others; exempt.

Self-examination.

An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.

A schedule of prices or fees.


4. Hieroglyphic

The method or result of concealing personnel or equipment from an enemy by making them appear to be part of the natural surroundings

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

An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

Relating to a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound.


5. Rainforest

To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.

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

Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

A dense evergreen forest occupying a tropical region with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches.


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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.