Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

WILDFIRE

DEFINITION:
An unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but a long drought, low humidity and strong winds were fueling them.
The Key West Citizen, 04/27/2026

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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. Light-Year

The main character in a drama or other literary work.

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

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

To honor the memory of with a ceremony


2. Exult

To honor the memory of with a ceremony

The supporting and water-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels; woody tissue.

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

To rejoice greatly; be jubilant or triumphant


3. Hypocrisy

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

To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark

The arrangement of events in time

The science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war.


4. Rainforest

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

A dense evergreen forest occupying a tropical region with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches.

A proportional part or share.

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


5. Despondent

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

To proclaim publicly

Being without or almost without hope

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


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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.