Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

VERTEBRAE

DEFINITION:
Each of the series of small bones forming the backbone.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
The photographer with The Washington Post who was attacked by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank so badly that several vertebrae were broken said Sunday she was increasingly angry that Israel’s military seems to protect settlers more than the Palestinians they threaten.
►Associated Press, 10/19/2026

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Words in the News Quiz
5 Elementary 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. pertinent

► The state of being serene; calmness; peacefulness.

► A piece of written, printed, or electronic matter that provides information or evidence or that serves as an official record.

► Important with regards to (a subject or matter); relevant

► Connection or association; the condition of being related.

2. jostle

► An attempt to deceive someone into believing that one can or will do something.

► In order of time from the earliest to the latest

► Having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable.

► To bump into or brush against while in motion.

3. terse

► Brief, concise, to the point.

► To talk rapidly, indistinctly, or unintelligibly; to utter gibberish or nonsense.

► Facts or observations presented in support of an assertion.

► An individual step, or stage, in any process or scale of values.

4. momentum

► The quantity of motion of a moving body; the impetus gained by a moving object

► Paying attention; noticing, watching, listening, or attending closely.

► Explain the meaning of (information, words, or actions)

► Unspoiled; still with its original purity; uncorrupted or unsullied

5. obscure

► Explain the meaning of (information, words, or actions)

► Unspoiled; still with its original purity; uncorrupted or unsullied

► To start (a fire) or light (a torch).

► Dark, faint or indistinct.

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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.