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. Guru

► A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.

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

► A state of uncertainty or perplexity.

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

2. Outrageous

► An embankment built to prevent flooding

► Grossly offensive to decency or morality.

► One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

► A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity; a pace

3. Sacrifice

► Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

► Being without or almost without hope

► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder

► A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

4. Aspire

► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder

► A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

► The science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war.

► To have a great ambition or ultimate goal

5. Vaccine

► A proportional part or share.

► A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen.

► 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.

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

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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.