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. Light-Year

► The branch of biology that deals with animals and animal life, including the study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals.

► One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.

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

► The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year.

2. Tempo

► The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables

► To stress or emphasize; intensify

► A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace

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

3. Sect

► A cult or religious movement, a group sharing particular (often unorthodox) political and/or religious beliefs.

► A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

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

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

4. Salmonella

► To honor the memory of with a ceremony

► Any of several rod-shaped bacteria, of the genus Salmonella, that cause food poisoning and other diseases.

► The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, arranged in order of wavelengths.

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

5. Vaccine

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

► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

► A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen.

► Having a backbone or spinal column.

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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.