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Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

NEFARIOUS

DEFINITION:
Flagrantly wicked, impious, or villainous.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
The group complaint and demand for jury trial filed Saturday in the Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that in a “nefarious conspiracy,” major insurers conspired to “eliminate competition between them,” thereby “intentionally and systematically” forcing homeowners to accept the California FAIR Plan.
The Los Angeles Times, 04/21/2025

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Words in the News Quiz
5 Elementary 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. cunning

To build or form something by assembling parts.

The act of exasperating or the state of being exasperated; irritation; keen or bitter anger.

Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.

A gift or payment to a common fund or collection.


2. dispel

A barrier constructed across a road, especially as a military defense.

To move or swing a weapon back and forth, particularly if demonstrating skill.

To drive away by scattering, or so to cause to vanish.

Tending to socialize or be social; friendly; inviting; congenial.


3. reference

A measurement one can compare to.

An attempt to deceive someone into believing that one can or will do something.

Anticipating something with anxiety or fear.

The throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it


4. concoction

The throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it

Subject; theme; a category or general area of interest.

A mixture of various ingredients or elements.

Explain the meaning of (information, words, or actions)


5. illuminate

To clarify or make something understandable

Progress toward a goal.

Watchful, especially for danger or disorder; alert; wary

To bring down the size, quantity, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower, to impair.


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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.