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Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

VERTEBRAE

DEFINITION:
Each of the series of small bones forming the backbone.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
The photographer with The Washington Post who was attacked by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank so badly that several vertebrae were broken said Sunday she was increasingly angry that Israel’s military seems to protect settlers more than the Palestinians they threaten.
►Associated Press, 10/19/2026

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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. Hypotenuse

► Shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane.

► To renounce under oath; forswear.

► The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.

► Architectural.


2. Moiety

► To picture falsely; misrepresent.

► Having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force; all-powerful.

► A reproductive cell having the haploid number of chromosomes, especially a mature sperm or egg capable of fusing with a gamete of the opposite sex to produce the fertilized egg.

► A part, portion, or share.


3. Chromosome

► Eating and drinking in moderation.

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

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

► Not interesting; dull:


4. Expurgate

► Mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree.

► Deception by trickery or sophistry.

► To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication.

► To make an accusation against.


5. Churlish

► Having a bad disposition; surly.

► To repeat in concise form. To make a summary.

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

► Not limited to or associated with a particular religious denomination.


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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.