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. Cower

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

► To stress or emphasize; intensify

► To cringe in fear

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

2. Embargo

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

► A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation

► The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.

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

3. Technique

► The food-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting of sieve tubes, fibers, parenchyma, and sclereids.

► Self-examination.

► The systematic procedure by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished.

► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.

4. Bizarre

► A member of an irregular, usually indigenous military or paramilitary unit operating in small bands in occupied territory to harass and undermine the enemy

► A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness

► A rebirth or revival.

► Strikingly unconventional and far-fetched in style or appearance; odd

5. Dialogue

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

► A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts.

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

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.

WILDFIRE

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words

WILDFIRE
DEFINITION: An unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation.	FOUND IN THE NEWS: It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but a long drought, low humidity and strong winds were fueling them. ►The Key West Citizen, 04/27/2026

WILDFIRE

Words in the News Quiz5 Middle School Words

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words