Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

IMPROBABLE

DEFINITION:
Unlikely to take place under the circumstances or in the usual course of events.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
That’s where Democratic candidates are trying to accomplish the improbable by flipping a pair of Trump-friendly congressional seats and carving into Republicans’ narrow 218 to 213 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Key West Citizen-Herald, 03/31/2025

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Words in the News Quiz
5 High 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. Hypotenuse

To bring under control; conquer.

Lacking purpose or vitality; feeble or ineffective.

Interchanged, given, or owed to each other.

The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.


2. Pecuniary

Impossible to dispute; unquestionable

Of or relating to money

Having a harmful effect; injurious.

To certify or attest to (the validity of a signature on a document, for example) as a notary public.


3. Auspicious

To certify or attest to (the validity of a signature on a document, for example) as a notary public.

Eating and drinking in moderation.

To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate.

Attended by favorable circumstances; propitious.


4. Lugubrious

Playfully jocular; humorous

Mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree.

The science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules.

The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.


5. Hubris

Extremely rapid, hasty, or abrupt; precipitate.

An extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object whose power output is several thousand times that of our entire galaxy.

Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance.

To increase the positive charge or valence of (an element) by removing electrons.


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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.