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Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

MITIGATION

DEFINITION:
The action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
But after years of record investment by the state in such wildfire risk mitigation, two key money sources are drying up, potentially reducing the state’s annual budget for vegetation removal by hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Los Angeles Times, 06/01/2026

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Words in the News Quiz
5 High 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. Evanescent

An extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object whose power output is several thousand times that of our entire galaxy.

A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function.

Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor.

An underlying base or foundation especially for an organization or system.


2. Nihilism

Tumultuous; stormy.

A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.

Impossible to dispute; unquestionable

A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.


3. Gamete

A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action.

A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.

A reproductive cell having the haploid number of chromosomes, especially a mature sperm or egg capable of fusing with a gamete of the opposite sex to produce the fertilized egg.


4. Hubris

To abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority.

Full of or exhibiting servile compliance; fawning.

Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness.

Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance.


5. Orthography

To make an accusation against.

Division into ordered groups or categories.

Everyday; commonplace.

The art or study of correct spelling according to established usage.


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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.