Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

ATMOSPHERIC

DEFINITION:
Anything related to the atmosphere, which is the layer of gases surrounding a planet. An atmospheric river is a narrow corridor concentrated water vapor.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
A major atmospheric river storm — strong enough to potentially rival some of the extreme storms that have walloped Southern California in recent winters — is barreling toward the coast, raising the specter of damaging landslides and flooding across the region.
The Los Angeles Times, 02/10/2025

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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. Despondent

Being without or almost without hope

One that speaks for, represents, or advocates

A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,

The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables


2. Quandary

A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,

The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables

Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles

A state of uncertainty or perplexity.


3. Cower

To cringe in fear

Self-examination.

An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

To condescend to give or grant


4. Jaunty

An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

To condescend to give or grant

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.


5. Vaccine

A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen.

To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

Consuming or eager to consume great amounts of food; ravenous.

Any of various nonplacental mammals, including kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and wombats, found principally in Australia and the Americas.


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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.