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

Generate your own quiz
Select a grade level
 Elementary
 Middle School
 High School
Select a quiz type
 By words
 By Definitions
Select how many questions
5   10   15   20  

Words in the News Quiz
5 High 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. Gauche

► The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action.

► Lacking social polish; tactless.

► Any of numerous natural and synthetic compounds consisting of up to millions of repeated linked units,

► The clear, yellowish fluid portion of blood, lymph, or intramuscular fluid in which cells are suspended.

2. Mitosis

► Physics that deals with the relationships and conversions between heat and other forms of energy.

► The process in cell division by which the nucleus divides.

► The use of unnecessarily wordy and indirect language.

► A product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away; debris.

3. Kinetic

► A product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away; debris.

► A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

► Eating and drinking in moderation.

► Of, relating to, or produced by motion.

4. Precipitous

► Interchanged, given, or owed to each other.

► Having a harmful effect; injurious.

► Extremely rapid, hasty, or abrupt; precipitate.

► A system of names used in an art or science:

5. Vacuous

► A circular strand of DNA in bacteria that contains the hereditary information necessary for cell life.

► To insert or introduce between other elements or parts.

► Lacking serious purpose or occupation; idle.

► A factor that determines a range of variations; a boundary

Get more Quizzes 

 Elementary School    Middle School   High School  

 By Word     By Definition    5  10  15  20 Questions

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.