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Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

ACQUAINTANCE

DEFINITION:
A person one knows slightly, but who is not a close friend.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
When photographer Peter Turnley was just 20 years old, an acquaintance from the California Office of Economic Opportunity reached out to him with a question.
►The Los Angeles Times, 12/01/2025

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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. Cower

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

► Having a backbone or spinal column.

► Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

► To cringe in fear

2. Formidable

► Relating to a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound.

► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

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

► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder

3. Sacrifice

► A state of uncertainty or perplexity.

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

► A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color.

► Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

4. Solstice

► Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.

► Not subject to an obligation imposed on others; exempt.

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

► A schedule of prices or fees.

5. Tumult

► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

► The pattern produced on a photosensitive medium that has been exposed by holography and then photographically developed.

► A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.

► An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze.

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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.

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