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. Introspection

► The locus of points for which the sum of the distances from each point to two fixed points is equal

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

► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

► Self-examination.

2. Tumult

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

► A cult or religious movement, a group sharing particular (often unorthodox) political and/or religious beliefs.

► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

► A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness

3. Hypocrisy

► The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

► Appropriateness of behavior or conduct

► The supporting and water-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels; woody tissue.

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

4. Rainforest

► To honor the memory of with a ceremony

► A dense evergreen forest occupying a tropical region with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches.

► Having a backbone or spinal column.

► The method or result of concealing personnel or equipment from an enemy by making them appear to be part of the natural surroundings

5. Fallacy

► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

► To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark

► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

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

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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.