Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

SUREFIRE

DEFINITION:
Certain or likely, especially to succeed.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
Kirby taught himself how to count cards, a surefire way to get barred from gambling at a casino, “raking in money on trips to Atlantic City and Las Vegas,” the article stated.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal, 05/04/2026

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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. Alliteration

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

The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables

Having a backbone or spinal column.

Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.


2. Outrageous

Consuming or eager to consume great amounts of food; ravenous.

Grossly offensive to decency or morality.

A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,

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


3. Bizarre

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

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.

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


4. Rainforest

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

An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.

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

The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.


5. Commemorate

A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

To proclaim publicly

To honor the memory of with a ceremony

One that is inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious; a bother.


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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.