Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

ACQUAINTANCE

DEFINITION:
A person one knows slightly, but who is not a close friend.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
When photographer Peter Turnley was just 20 years old, an acquaintance from the California Office of Economic Opportunity reached out to him with a question.
►The Los Angeles Times, 12/01/2025

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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. Quarantine

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

► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

► One that is inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious; a bother.

► 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.

2. Marsupial

► The right or privilege of voting; franchise.

► Any of various nonplacental mammals, including kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and wombats, found principally in Australia and the Americas.

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

► A dense evergreen forest occupying a tropical region with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches.

3. Bandolier

► A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.

► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.

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

4. Tempo

► Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.

► A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace

► A form of a verb that in some languages, such as English, can function independently as an adjective.

► Being without or almost without hope

5. Tranquility

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

► To stress or emphasize; intensify

► One that takes in everything available, as with the mind.

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

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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.