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. Recede

Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

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

To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark

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.


2. Nebula

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

Having a backbone or spinal column.

A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness

An embankment built to prevent flooding


3. Tumult

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

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

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

A disorderly commotion or disturbance.


4. Maneuver

A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

The arrangement of events in time

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


5. Tsunami

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

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

Appropriateness of behavior or conduct

A proportional part or share.


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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.