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Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

PROACTIVE

DEFINITION:
Taking action to control a situation rather than responding to it after it has happened.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
LoPilato said the policy aims to be proactive, rather than allowing more violence to take place before regulating the problem.
The Los Angeles Times, 07/20/2026

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Words in the News Quiz
5 High 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. Yeoman

Impossible to dispute; unquestionable

A diligent, dependable worker.

Having a bad disposition; surly.

A form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life,


2. Circumlocution

The use of unnecessarily wordy and indirect language.

Noninterference in the affairs of others.

Everyday; commonplace.

A factor that determines a range of variations; a boundary


3. Diffident

A plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the cone.

Lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid.

A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor.


4. Omnipotent

The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others.

Put together; created.

Having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force; all-powerful.

Very talkative; garrulous.


5. Thermodynamics

Division into ordered groups or categories.

To proceed completely around:

Physics that deals with the relationships and conversions between heat and other forms of energy.

The clear, yellowish fluid portion of blood, lymph, or intramuscular fluid in which cells are suspended.


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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.