Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

SUREFIRE

DEFINITION:
Certain or likely, especially to succeed.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
Kirby taught himself how to count cards, a surefire way to get barred from gambling at a casino, “raking in money on trips to Atlantic City and Las Vegas,” the article stated.
►The Las Vegas Review-Journal, 05/04/2026

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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. Lichen

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

► Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

► Grossly offensive to decency or morality.

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

2. Mutation

► The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.

► An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

► Harmful, malevolent, injurious. Harmfully cancerous.

► The science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war.

3. Sect

► Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

► Any of various nonplacental mammals, including kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and wombats, found principally in Australia and the Americas.

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

► A form of a verb that in some languages, such as English, can function independently as an adjective.

4. Exult

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

► To rejoice greatly; be jubilant or triumphant

► Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective.

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

5. Yacht

► The supporting and water-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels; woody tissue.

► Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels used for pleasure cruises or racing.

► The arrangement of events in time

► Something that is passed down from preceding generations; a tradition.

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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.