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. Hypocrisy

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

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

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

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

2. Hieroglyphic

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

► The right or privilege of voting; franchise.

► Relating to a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound.

► A Y-shaped protein on the surface of B cells that is secreted into the blood or lymph in response to an antigenic stimulus

3. Spectrum

► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

► The method or result of concealing personnel or equipment from an enemy by making them appear to be part of the natural surroundings

► A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.

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

4. Parasite

► Sharing the same opinions or views; being in complete harmony or accord.

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

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

► The arrangement of events in time

5. Kilometer

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

► A metric unit of length equal to 1,000 meters (0.62 mile).

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

► To take in by elaborate methods of deceit

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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.