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 High 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. Vortex

A place or situation regarded as drawing into its center all that surrounds it.

To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of.

Lacking social polish; tactless.

Lacking purpose or vitality; feeble or ineffective.


2. Tectonic

Architectural.

Clear to the understanding.

The process in cell division by which the nucleus divides.

To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate.


3. Xenophobe

To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate.

A diligent, dependable worker.

A person unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples.

Lacking serious purpose or occupation; idle.


4. Infrastructure

An underlying base or foundation especially for an organization or system.

Attended by favorable circumstances; propitious.

To proceed completely around:

Physics that deals with the relationships and conversions between heat and other forms of energy.


5. Diffident

Lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid.

To renounce under oath; forswear.

A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener.

The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action.


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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.