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

Generate your own quiz
Select a grade level
 Elementary
 Middle School
 High School
Select a quiz type
 By words
 By Definitions
Select how many questions
5   10   15   20  

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. Renegade

One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.

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

To condescend to give or grant

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


2. Virtuoso

Being without or almost without hope

A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts.

A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

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


3. Polygon

The systematic procedure by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished.

A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.

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

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.


4. Impertinent

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.

An embankment built to prevent flooding

A weather phenomenon in the Eastern Pacific that is precisely equivalent to a hurricane.

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


5. Sacrifice

A form of a verb that in some languages, such as English, can function independently as an adjective.

Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

Incorrectness of reasoning or belief


Get more Quizzes 

 Elementary School    Middle School   High School  

 By Word     By Definition    5  10  15  20 Questions

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.