Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

ARID

DEFINITION:
Being without moisture; extremely dry; parched.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
The unpredictability of illegal fireworks make them dangerous in the arid desert climate, said Riddle, who is also bureau commander of Metro’s Northeast Area Command.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal, 06/30/2025

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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. Nebula

To proclaim publicly

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

The right or privilege of voting; franchise.

Loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline


2. Polygon

A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.

The locus of points for which the sum of the distances from each point to two fixed points is equal

The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.

A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.


3. Jaunty

Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

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

Being without or almost without hope

The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.


4. Quota

A proportional part or share.

To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive

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

To cringe in fear


5. Stereotype

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

To cringe in fear

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

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


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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.