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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. Zoology

► Having a backbone or spinal column.

► To stress or emphasize; intensify

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

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

2. Outrageous

► Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

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

► 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.

► Grossly offensive to decency or morality.

3. Tranquility

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

► A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption.

► The systematic procedure by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished.

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

4. Marsupial

► Not subject to an obligation imposed on others; exempt.

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

► Loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline

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

5. Divulge

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

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

► To proclaim publicly

► One that speaks for, represents, or advocates

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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.