Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

CANVASS

DEFINITION:
A systematic approach to interviewing residents, merchants, and others who are in the immediate vicinity of a crime and may have useful information.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
In a press release, police said Lewisville Fire Department officials pronounced the man deceased on the scene. Police started a homicide investigation immediately, and canvassed the area in search of witnesses.
The Denton Record-Chronicle, 09/14/2026

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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. Silhouette

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

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

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

A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color.


2. Toxin

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

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

To stress or emphasize; intensify

To proclaim publicly


3. Jovial

To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive

Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.

Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.


4. Introspection

To take in by elaborate methods of deceit

Self-examination.

Strikingly unconventional and far-fetched in style or appearance; odd

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


5. Salmonella

To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

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

Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

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


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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.