WORDS IN THE NEWS
USE THE NEWS
HISTORY
PULSE OF THE PLANET
NEWS VIDEO
GEOGRAPHY
FRONT PAGE
CARTOONS IN THE CLASSROOM

Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

LITIGANT

DEFINITION:
Someone involved in a lawsuit.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
With the widespread and transformative use of artificial intelligence — particularly generative AI — in daily life, federal and state courts in New Mexico are finding self-represented litigants and some attorneys filing legal cases containing false or misleading information.
►The Albuquerque Journal, 04/13/2026

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 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. Delegate

► A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color.

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

► Harmful, malevolent, injurious. Harmfully cancerous.

► Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold

2. Hieroglyphic

► Relating to a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound.

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

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

► Of or relating to the range of invisible radiation wavelengths from about 4 nanometers, on the border of the x-ray region, to about 380 nanometers, just beyond the violet in the visible spectrum.

3. Laconic

► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.

► The method or result of concealing personnel or equipment from an enemy by making them appear to be part of the natural surroundings

► Having or demonstrating enthusiasm

► A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption.

4. Pulverize

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

► The arrangement of events in time

► A cult or religious movement, a group sharing particular (often unorthodox) political and/or religious beliefs.

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

5. Nocturnal

► Consuming or eager to consume great amounts of food; ravenous.

► Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

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

► The supporting and water-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels; woody tissue.

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.