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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. Participle

► A state of uncertainty or perplexity.

► A proportional part or share.

► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.

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

2. Omnivore

► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

► One that takes in everything available, as with the mind.

► Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective.

► Any of various nonplacental mammals, including kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and wombats, found principally in Australia and the Americas.

3. Virtuoso

► To stress or emphasize; intensify

► The method or result of concealing personnel or equipment from an enemy by making them appear to be part of the natural surroundings

► A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts.

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

4. Hieroglyphic

► The main character in a drama or other literary work.

► The drawing of a conclusion by reasoning; the act of deducing.

► To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark

► 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.

5. Yacht

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

► Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels used for pleasure cruises or racing.

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

► A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.

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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.