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. Vacillate
► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.
► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.
► One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.
► To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
2. Aspire
► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal
► A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation
► To condescend to give or grant
► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.
3. Silhouette
► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.
► An embankment built to prevent flooding
► A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.
4. Nebula
► To take in by elaborate methods of deceit
► A state of uncertainty or perplexity.
► One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.
5. Polygon
► A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.
► To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark
► Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective.
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.