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 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. Solstice

► The arrangement of events in time

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

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

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

2. Enthusiastic

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

► Having or demonstrating enthusiasm

► The act of resting or the state of being at rest.

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

3. Formidable

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

► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.

► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder

► Being without or almost without hope

4. Maneuver

► One that speaks for, represents, or advocates

► One that is inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious; a bother.

► To take in by elaborate methods of deceit

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

5. Ellipse

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

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

► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.

► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

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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.