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. Spectrum

The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, arranged in order of wavelengths.

Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

One that speaks for, represents, or advocates

A member of an irregular, usually indigenous military or paramilitary unit operating in small bands in occupied territory to harass and undermine the enemy


2. Typhoon

A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.

A weather phenomenon in the Eastern Pacific that is precisely equivalent to a hurricane.

To honor the memory of with a ceremony

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


3. Vaccine

A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts.

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.

A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen.

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


4. Aspire

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

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

To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

To rejoice greatly; be jubilant or triumphant


5. Deign

To stress or emphasize; intensify

The main character in a drama or other literary work.

Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

To condescend to give or grant


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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.