Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

RESPIRATORY

DEFINITION:
Relating to breathing.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
They weren’t warned to wear respiratory and other personal protection because the burning composite materials from the F-35 stealth fighter were releasing potentially harmful airborne particles and fibers, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.
►The Albuquerque Journal, 03/30/2026

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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. Formidable

► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder

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

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

► To stress or emphasize; intensify

2. Alliteration

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

► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

► The systematic procedure by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished.

► A schedule of prices or fees.

3. Lichen

► Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.

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

► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

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

4. Participle

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

► The pattern produced on a photosensitive medium that has been exposed by holography and then photographically developed.

► A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

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

5. Undulate

► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

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

► To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.

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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.