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 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. Loquacious

► 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.

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

► Very talkative; garrulous.

► Lacking social polish; tactless.

2. Tautology

► Having a bad disposition; surly.

► Architectural.

► To increase the positive charge or valence of (an element) by removing electrons.

► Needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy.

3. Fatuous

► Having one’s true identity concealed.

► Vacuously, smugly, and unconsciously foolish.

► The process in cell division by which the nucleus divides.

► Belonging to the period before a war, especially the American Civil War.

4. Impeach

► A factor that determines a range of variations; a boundary

► To make an accusation against.

► Warlike in manner or temperament; pugnacious.

► Noninterference in the affairs of others.

5. Precipitous

► A plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the cone.

► Cheerfully confident; optimistic.

► Extremely rapid, hasty, or abrupt; precipitate.

► To divide (a geographic area) into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections.

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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.