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. Bamboozle

To take in by elaborate methods of deceit

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

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.

To proclaim publicly


2. Tempo

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.

To proclaim publicly

A schedule of prices or fees.

A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace


3. Quandary

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

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

A state of uncertainty or perplexity.

The branch of biology that deals with animals and animal life, including the study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals.


4. Mosaic

A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

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

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

To rejoice greatly; be jubilant or triumphant


5. Despondent

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

Being without or almost without hope

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

A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation


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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.