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. Tumult
► An embankment built to prevent flooding
► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.
► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.
► Having a backbone or spinal column.
2. Wretched
► A weather phenomenon in the Eastern Pacific that is precisely equivalent to a hurricane.
► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.
3. Camouflage
► One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.
► The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year.
4. Pulverize
► To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust.
► The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.
► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.
5. Formidable
► The right or privilege of voting; franchise.
► Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder
► A teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters.
► To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.
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.