Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

FOOTHOLD

DEFINITION:
A position usable as a base for further advance.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
Growing national anxiety over the impact of massive data centers on communities has found a foothold in Greater Boston in the form of Markley’s Lowell location.
The Boston Herald, 08/10/2026

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Words in the News Quiz
5 High 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. Totalitarian

A form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life,

Eating and drinking in moderation.

Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families.

The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others.


2. Subjugate

A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.

To bring under control; conquer.

A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener.

To impress (something) upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition; instill.


3. Epiphany

To endow with the rights of citizenship, especially the right to vote.

A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.

Clear to the understanding.

To abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority.


4. Ziggurat

A circular strand of DNA in bacteria that contains the hereditary information necessary for cell life.

Impossible to dispute; unquestionable

A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

Extremely rapid, hasty, or abrupt; precipitate.


5. Notarize

Of or relating to money

Falling off or shed at a specific season or stage of growth:

To certify or attest to (the validity of a signature on a document, for example) as a notary public.

To renounce under oath; forswear.


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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.