News from March 21–March 27, 2026
Each week, we scan the latest headlines to spot words in action. From major news stories to pop culture buzz, this feature highlights language as it’s unfolding. Stories about forest bathing, next-gen apples, and a BTS comeback all contributed to the vocabulary from this week’s news.
airlift
verb: to fly people or goods from places otherwise hard to reach
From the headlines: Greek authorities airlifted roughly 100 pets along with their owners from the United Arab Emirates, safely bringing them from Abu Dhabi to Athens on a government-chartered plane. As missile strikes intensify in the region, several Persian Gulf nations have shut down their airspace, leading to widespread flight cancellations. Expatriates traveling with animals have struggled in particular to secure seats on commercial flights.
arboretum
noun: a plot of land where trees and shrubs are cultivated
From the headlines: “Forest bathing” has become a popular activity at an urban tree garden in North Carolina. The JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh offers sessions in the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku, which has been shown to benefit physical and mental health. Certified guides lead participants in meditation and guided breathing, and encourage them to “commune with the trees.”
conjecture
noun: the expression of a theory without sufficient evidence for proof
From the headlines: German mathematician Gerd Faltings won the prestigious Abel Prize, considered the Nobel of mathematics. Faltings was recognized for proving a conjecture that had stumped mathematicians for sixty years. Using connections between numbers and geometry, Faltings proved a tentative hypothesis made by another mathematician in 1922: that the number of rational solutions for certain complex equations is finite.
culpable
adjective: deserving blame or censure
From the headlines: A jury held Elon Musk liable for misleading investors through two tweets he posted prior to taking over Twitter (now known as X) in 2022. While jurors found him culpable for contributing to a drop in the company’s stock price before the acquisition, they also concluded that he did not do so intentionally. Following the verdict, Twitter shareholders were awarded approximately $2.1 billion in damages.
debacle
noun: a sudden and complete disaster
From the headlines: A BTS comeback concert in Seoul was a modest success for the K-pop group but became a debacle for many nearby businesses. Restaurants around the venue stocked up heavily, anticipating a crowd of 250,000 fans, yet only 22,000 free tickets were issued and about 60,000 people showed up. Anticipating massive crowds, neighboring eateries spent thousands on extra ingredients, much of which went to waste, dealing a serious blow to smaller establishments.
horticulturalist
noun: an expert in the science of growing plants
From the headlines: Washington State University horticulturists have developed a new apple they say is delicious, crisp, and hardy enough to withstand unpredictable weather. The same plant scientists unveiled the popular Cosmic Crisp apple seven years ago. Now they’ve bred the Sunflare by crossing the juicy Honeycrisp with Cripps Pink, known for being tart and robust and having a tough skin that can stand up to heat, cold, and shipping.
invertebrate
adjective: of or relating to animals without a backbone
From the headlines: Scientists have documented what appears to be the first case of pair bonding in an invertebrate species. This kind of lasting, close partnership is well known in mammals and birds but had not previously been observed in animals without backbones. In the study, male and female wood-feeding cockroaches formed pairs, dug a small burrow together, and then chewed off each other’s wings. After this unusual behavior, the invertebrate couples built a nest, reproduced, and jointly cared for their young.
malodorous
adjective: having an unpleasant smell
From the headlines: A British ice cream brand is scaling back a scented advertising campaign after complaints that it was malodorous. For a week, King’s Cross Station in London was filled with the odor of sweet chocolate, part of a Magnum Ice Cream marketing plan. Commuters quickly began to complain that the smell was “sickly” and “artificial,” with some likening the scent to “urine.” The company said that it will “tone down” the aroma.
noncompliance
noun: failure or refusal to comply, such as with a law or regulation
From the headlines: A Florida hospital has filed suit to evict a patient who has been in her room for five months since being discharged. The woman was admitted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in early October, and doctors cleared her to leave shortly after on October 6. Despite repeated attempts to arrange a ride and coordinate with relatives, her noncompliance continued, and she refused to vacate the facility. Hospital officials initiated legal action earlier this month, with a hearing set for March 30.
surreal
adjective: characterized by fantastic and incongruous imagery
From the headlines: Critics were mixed on the debut episode of Saturday Night Live U.K., but many praised its most surreal comedy sketches, described as “more British.” Hosted by Tina Fey, the show’s cast of little-known comics put absurdist spins on figures ranging from a deranged Captain Birdseye, a frozen fish fingers mascot, to an off-kilter Cockney underwear salesperson. An unhinged “Weekend Update” segment hosted by Ania Magliano and Paddy Young was lauded for its classic British weirdness.
