Each week, we scan the latest headlines to spot words in action. From major news stories to pop culture buzz, this feature highlights language as it’s unfolding. Stories about solar storms, a hotel for snakes, and a four-day workweek trial in Scotland all contributed to the vocabulary from this week’s news.
arduous
adjective: requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult
From the headlines: Three Scottish brothers completed an arduous rowing journey across the Pacific, setting a speed record and raising money for clean-water projects. Along the 9,000-mile nonstop journey, Jamie Maclean played the bagpipes while Ewan and Lachlan waved Scottish, Australian, and U.K. flags.
biped
noun: a two-footed animal
From the headlines: A study revealed some specific genetic changes that led to humans becoming bipeds. Researchers were interested in the development of the bowl-shaped pelvic bone called the ilium, which plays a huge role in the ability to stand upright on two legs. By comparing cells from human ilia with those of primate relatives that use their arms to help them walk, scientists zeroed in on which genes changed when we began walking on two legs.
bolster
verb: to add to, support, strengthen, or uphold
From the headlines: At a meeting on August 31, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to bolster cooperation. It’s the first major move to boost good relations between the countries since violent border conflicts between Chinese and Indian soldiers in 2020. Xi and Modi both vowed to stabilize their shared border; reopen economic trade and travel between China and India; and otherwise act in support of a cordial, unified relationship.
calamitous
adjective: causing or involving a great misfortune; disastrous
From the headlines: A calamitous 6.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed several villages in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 2,200 people and injuring thousands. The initial quake and a large aftershock destroyed about 8,000 houses. Rescuers continued to face difficult terrain and roads blocked by rubble as they struggled to reach remote villages days later.
dormancy
noun: a state of being inactive as if asleep
From the headlines: Massachusetts ecologists built a winter “hotel” for snakes — a safe underground refuge where at-risk reptiles can spend their season of dormancy. They hope several species will check in, but their main guest of interest is the North American racer, a rodent-hunting snake. While dormancy helps snakes conserve energy, it also leaves them vulnerable, making this shelter a lifeline.
electromagnetic
adjective: of or relating to electric and magnetic fields, their interactions with each other, and their effects on electric charges and currents
From the headlines: On September 1, moderate solar storms painted skies across North America and Northern Europe. The sun’s flares weren’t as fierce as expected, but they were strong enough to cause electromagnetic eruptions that created brilliant green and purple auroras.
Fun fact: In the earth’s atmosphere, oxygen causes auroras to appear green and red while nitrogen gives them their pink and purple hues.
franchise
noun: a set of creative works and related merchandise that share a fictional world, as films, television shows, books, or games
From the headlines: The 2025 Pokémon World Championships proved just how relevant the 30-year-old franchise still is. More than 25,000 fans, many in costume, filled the Anaheim Convention Center to duel, trade, and cheer. Pokémon remains a cultural force, exciting kids today while fueling nostalgia for adults who grew up catching ’em all.
kelp
noun: large, brown, cold-water seaweed of the family Laminariaceae
From the headlines: In California, divers have waged war on purple sea urchins, smashing millions of them to rescue a vanishing kelp forest. With sea otters in decline, urchins multiplied and chewed through the habitat. Thanks to this underwater intervention, more than 80 acres of kelp have rebounded, rising into what scientists call an “otherworldly underwater forest.”
productivity
noun: the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services
From the headlines: A four-day workweek trial in Scotland showed that productivity can actually rise when hours fall. Two public agencies cut schedules from forty to thirty-two hours without reducing pay, and employees became happier, healthier, and more efficient. Sick days dropped, and the total number of tasks completed went up.
proscribe
verb: to denounce or condemn (a thing) as dangerous or harmful; prohibit
From the headlines: A growing number of states are banning cell phones in schools. This month, millions of students in districts across the U.S. returned to schools that now officially proscribe the use of phones during the school day. Proponents of the rule say it results in students being more focused and less anxious. The majority of students are opposed to the prohibition, which usually requires placing their phones in a locked bag or box or leaving them at home.
