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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

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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. Protagonist

► The branch of biology that deals with animals and animal life, including the study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals.

► The main character in a drama or other literary work.

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

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

2. Ozone

► Self-examination.

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

► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.

► One that speaks for, represents, or advocates

3. Quarantine

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

► Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

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

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

4. Aspire

► To condescend to give or grant

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

► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

► A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,

5. Embargo

► Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective.

► 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.

► One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.

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

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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.