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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.
This Week's Word In The News 

PLOY

DEFINITION:
A cunning plan or action designed to turn a situation to one's own advantage.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
“First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” said the 44th president, conceding that it does serve as an effective distraction and ploy for attention.
The Boston Herald, 02/16/2026

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

Either of two points on the celestial sphere at which the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator.

The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.

A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function.

To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate.


2. Deciduous

To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate.

Full of or exhibiting servile compliance; fawning.

Vacuously, smugly, and unconsciously foolish.

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


3. Diffident

Very talkative; garrulous.

Lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid.

A person unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples.

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


4. Bellicose

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

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

Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight.

Warlike in manner or temperament; pugnacious.


5. Lugubrious

To proceed completely around:

Clear to the understanding.

Not limited to or associated with a particular religious denomination.

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


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