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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

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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. Mosaic

► The drawing of a conclusion by reasoning; the act of deducing.

► A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.

► The right or privilege of voting; franchise.

► Appropriateness of behavior or conduct

2. Marsupial

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

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

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

► Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.

3. Boycott

► Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels used for pleasure cruises or racing.

► To abstain from or act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest or disfavor or as a means of coercion

► Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

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

4. Tundra

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

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

► One that speaks for, represents, or advocates

► A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation

5. Maneuver

► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

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

► The science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war.

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

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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.