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Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

PETITIONER

DEFINITION:
A person who pleads with a governmental institution for a legal remedy or a redress of grievances, through the use of a petition.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
While presenting the citizens’ petition for debate at the April 11 Spring Town Meeting, petitioners argued that ICE operations in Plymouth have “created fear” and “disrupted lives” among the immigrant community, leading to what they call a distrust of local police.
The Boston Herald, 04/20/2026

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Words in the News Quiz
5 High 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. Jejune

The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source.

Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness.

Of, relating to, or produced by motion.

Not interesting; dull:


2. Homogeneous

Of the same or similar nature or kind

The act or process of inhaling and exhaling; breathing.

The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.

To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication.


3. Kowtow

To show servile deference.

Vacuously, smugly, and unconsciously foolish.

The art or study of correct spelling according to established usage.

Characterized by forcefulness of expression or intensity of emotion or conviction; fervid.


4. Lucid

Clear to the understanding.

Something done or paid to compensate or make amends.

An advocate of the extension of political voting rights, especially to women.

Of or relating to a holding of something in trust for another.


5. Soliloquy

An advocate of the extension of political voting rights, especially to women.

Of or relating to a holding of something in trust for another.

A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.

A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener.


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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.