Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

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

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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. Xylem

► To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust.

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

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

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

2. Gargoyle

► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

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

► To take in by elaborate methods of deceit

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

3. Levee

► To take in by elaborate methods of deceit

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

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

► An embankment built to prevent flooding

4. Plateau

► The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year.

► Self-examination.

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

► An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.

5. Divulge

► Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

► The act of resting or the state of being at rest.

► To proclaim publicly

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

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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.