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. Salmonella

Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold

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

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

In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.


2. Symbiosis

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

The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation


3. Divulge

An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

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

To proclaim publicly


4. Labyrinth

An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze.

Having or demonstrating enthusiasm

Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

Of, relating to, or occurring in the night


5. Phloem

The food-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting of sieve tubes, fibers, parenchyma, and sclereids.

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

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.

Being without or almost without hope


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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.