Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

STYMIED

DEFINITION:
To be an obstacle to; prevent the advancement or success of; thwart or stump.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
“The continued growth in vehicle miles traveled combined with increases in the size and weight of vehicles have stymied progress.”
►The Boston Herald, 05/23/2022

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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. Despondent

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

► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

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

► Being without or almost without hope

2. Ultraviolet

► Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

► Of or relating to the range of invisible radiation wavelengths from about 4 nanometers, on the border of the x-ray region, to about 380 nanometers, just beyond the violet in the visible spectrum.

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

3. Marsupial

► Loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline

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

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

► The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.

4. Virtuoso

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

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

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

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

5. Aspire

► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

► An embankment built to prevent flooding

► Strikingly unconventional and far-fetched in style or appearance; odd

► One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

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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.