Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

SIMULCAST

DEFINITION:
A simultaneous transmission of the same programme on radio and television, or on two or more channels.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
He was a commentator for the Lakers alongside the venerable Chick Hearn, doing what was then a simulcast of radio and television.
►The Los Angeles Times, 02/23/2026

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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. Tranquility

► The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

► A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation

► The supporting and water-conducting tissue of vascular plants, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels; woody tissue.

2. Salmonella

► To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.

► A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.

► Any of several rod-shaped bacteria, of the genus Salmonella, that cause food poisoning and other diseases.

► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.

3. Protagonist

► A cult or religious movement, a group sharing particular (often unorthodox) political and/or religious beliefs.

► Having or demonstrating enthusiasm

► Having a backbone or spinal column.

► The main character in a drama or other literary work.

4. Pulverize

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

► An embankment built to prevent flooding

► To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust.

► The act of resting or the state of being at rest.

5. Quarantine

► Enforced isolation or restriction of free movement imposed to prevent the spread of contagious disease.

► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

► To cringe in fear

► A rebirth or revival.

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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.