TIE | The Los Angeles Times in Education

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. Nocturnal

► A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace

► A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

► Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

► To condescend to give or grant

2. Fallacy

► The main character in a drama or other literary work.

► The right or privilege of voting; franchise.

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

► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

3. Gargoyle

► One that takes in everything available, as with the mind.

► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.

► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

► The systematic procedure by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished.

4. Ozone

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

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

► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

5. Nuisance

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

► A weather phenomenon in the Eastern Pacific that is precisely equivalent to a hurricane.

► One that is inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious; a bother.

► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder

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.

LITIGANT

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words

LITIGANT
DEFINITION: Someone involved in a lawsuit.	FOUND IN THE NEWS: With the widespread and transformative use of artificial intelligence — particularly generative AI — in daily life, federal and state courts in New Mexico are finding self-represented litigants and some attorneys filing legal cases containing false or misleading information. ►The Albuquerque Journal, 04/13/2026

LITIGANT

Words in the News Quiz5 Middle School Words

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words