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. Formidable
► To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive
► Grossly offensive to decency or morality.
► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder
2. Toxin
► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.
► To honor the memory of with a ceremony
► A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.
3. Tundra
► Being without or almost without hope
► To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.
► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.
4. Ellipse
► Loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline
► The act of resting or the state of being at rest.
► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.
5. Voracious
► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.
► An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.
► An embankment built to prevent flooding
► Consuming or eager to consume great amounts of food; ravenous.
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.