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Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

INSPECTOR

DEFINITION:
An official employed to ensure that official regulations are obeyed, especially in public services.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are federal employees, and misconduct allegations are typically investigated by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility or by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of inspector General.
The Key West Citizen, 03/16/2026

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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. Lexicon

Feeling or showing haughty disdain.

Tumultuous; stormy.

A stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject, or style; a vocabulary:

Logical incongruity


2. Jejune

To increase the positive charge or valence of (an element) by removing electrons.

A plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the cone.

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

Not interesting; dull:


3. Churlish

Playfully jocular; humorous

The science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules.

Having a bad disposition; surly.

Vacuously, smugly, and unconsciously foolish.


4. Expurgate

A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality

Cheerfully confident; optimistic.

To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication.

Extremely rapid, hasty, or abrupt; precipitate.


5. Circumnavigate

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

To proceed completely around:

The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.

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


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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.