Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

INSPECTOR

DEFINITION:
An official employed to ensure that official regulations are obeyed, especially in public services.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are federal employees, and misconduct allegations are typically investigated by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility or by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of inspector General.
►The Key West Citizen, 03/16/2026

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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. Ozone

► One that is inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious; a bother.

► Having or demonstrating enthusiasm

► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

► A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen.

2. Jaunty

► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

► One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.

► 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 state of uncertainty or perplexity.

3. Tumult

► One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

► Having a backbone or spinal column.

► A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace

4. Wretched

► A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace

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

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

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

5. Voracious

► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.

► A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness

► The supporting and water-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels; woody tissue.

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

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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.