Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

PARLIAMENTARIAN

DEFINITION:
A consultant who advises the presiding officer and other officers, committees, and members on matters of parliamentary procedure.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
Mia Cooper, a parliamentarian for the district, brought her daughter to district meetings and state-level education forums as the girl grew up.
►The Los Angeles Times, 03/09/2026

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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. Malignant

► Harmful, malevolent, injurious. Harmfully cancerous.

► To cringe in fear

► The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

► The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables

2. Plateau

► The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

► The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables

► One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.

► An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.

3. Spectrum

► The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, arranged in order of wavelengths.

► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder

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

► The arrangement of events in time

4. Maneuver

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

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

► Sharing the same opinions or views; being in complete harmony or accord.

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

5. Xylem

► Self-examination.

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

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

► A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.

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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.