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. Analogy

Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

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

To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust.

Self-examination.


2. Nebula

A state of uncertainty or perplexity.

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

An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

The arrangement of events in time


3. Tranquility

A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace

The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

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

A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.


4. Gargoyle

A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.

Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

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 grotesque ornamental figure or projection.


5. Metaphor

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

One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

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

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


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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.