TIE | The Los Angeles Times in Education

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. Maneuver

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

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

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

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

2. Pulverize

► Grossly offensive to decency or morality.

► A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.

► A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

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

3. Symbiosis

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

► An embankment built to prevent flooding

► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

► A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

4. Eclectic

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

► A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.

► Being without or almost without hope

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

5. Guru

► A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.

► To rejoice greatly; be jubilant or triumphant

► An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze.

► To condescend to give or grant

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.

SITUATED

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words

SITUATED
DEFINITION: Having a site, situation, or location.	FOUND IN THE NEWS: If the Netflix deal goes through, it could have implications for New Mexico, with one of Netflix’s major facilities situated in Albuquerque’s Mesa del Sol community, local industry experts say. ►The Albuquerque Journal, 01/12/2026

SITUATED

Words in the News Quiz5 Middle School Words

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words