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. Metaphor

► One that speaks for, represents, or advocates

► One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

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

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

2. Ellipse

► To take in by elaborate methods of deceit

► The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

► The locus of points for which the sum of the distances from each point to two fixed points is equal

► To rejoice greatly; be jubilant or triumphant

3. Jovial

► To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.

► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.

► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

► A schedule of prices or fees.

4. Levee

► A schedule of prices or fees.

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

► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

► An embankment built to prevent flooding

5. Tranquility

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

► To abstain from or act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest or disfavor or as a means of coercion

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

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

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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.