Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

ARID

DEFINITION:
Being without moisture; extremely dry; parched.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
The unpredictability of illegal fireworks make them dangerous in the arid desert climate, said Riddle, who is also bureau commander of Metro’s Northeast Area Command.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal, 06/30/2025

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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. Mosaic

Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

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

Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold

Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels used for pleasure cruises or racing.


2. Tsunami

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

A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

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

The main character in a drama or other literary work.


3. Ultraviolet

Of or relating to the range of invisible radiation wavelengths from about 4 nanometers, on the border of the x-ray region, to about 380 nanometers, just beyond the violet in the visible spectrum.

Harmful, malevolent, injurious. Harmfully cancerous.

A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.

To stress or emphasize; intensify


4. Undulate

A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.

To stress or emphasize; intensify

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

To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.


5. Tranquility

A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

A form of a verb that in some languages, such as English, can function independently as an adjective.

The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.


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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.