Ripped from the Headlines: May 2026: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for May 17–May 23, 2026

Stories about the discovery of an enormous dinosaur, an unparalleled opportunity for undergraduates, and the preservation of an ancient ziggurat all contributed words to this list of vocabulary from the week's news.

10 words 11 learners

What type of activity would you like to assign?

Practice An adaptive activity where students answer a few questions about each word in this list. If a student struggles with a word, we follow up with additional questions.Quiz Quiz your students on this list. Easily customize your quiz by choosing specific words, question-types, and meanings to include.Spelling Bee Students are required to spell every word on the list. If they get a word wrong, we follow up until they learn the spelling.Vocabulary Jam Students join teams and compete in real time to see which team can answer the most questions correctly.

Assign this list to your students

Start a free 10-day teacher trial to engage your students in all of Vocabulary.com’s word learning activities. Set up fun Vocab Jams, create a quiz, and monitor each student’s progress.

Start your free teacher trial

Learn more about how Vocabulary.com supports educators across the country.

Ripped from the Headlines: May 2026: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for May 17–May 23, 2026﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

What type of activity would you like to assign?

Assign this list to your students

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Ripped from the Headlines: May 2026: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for May 17–May 23, 2026