1
as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
asking me to take her shopping turned out to be a ploy to get me to the surprise party
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2
as in spree
a time or instance of carefree fun
wanted one grand ploy through Europe before settling down and raising a family
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Recent Examples of ploy
What began as a matter of necessity, a desperate ploy to get a writer paid quickly, soon became Meredith’s standard operating procedure.
—
Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Senior pitcher/second baseman Ellie Peck, a Lewis recruit who reached base three times and scored three runs, confirmed that Kuefler’s motivational ploy seems to be working.
—Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Desmond called the ballot measure merely a ploy to extend term limits for supervisors, likening the rest of the package to an effort to feed a pet medicine by hiding it in a snack.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2026
The ploy provoked personal blowback, including allegations of domestic abuse, which Magyar denied.
—Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ploy
Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Senior pitcher/second baseman Ellie Peck, a Lewis recruit who reached base three times and scored three runs, confirmed that Kuefler’s motivational ploy seems to be working.
—Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Desmond called the ballot measure merely a ploy to extend term limits for supervisors, likening the rest of the package to an effort to feed a pet medicine by hiding it in a snack.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2026
The ploy provoked personal blowback, including allegations of domestic abuse, which Magyar denied.
—Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ploy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ploy
Noun
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One team of successful attorneys created an elaborate ruse a couple of years ago that involved a private jet and an Oscar-worthy acting job.—
Kristin Shaw,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
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This clever ruse thwarted the late-summer naval attack.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Aside from his political rivals, the posting spree also included a series of posts directed at Iran.—
Siladitya Ray,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Cristian Fajardo Mondragon, 17, was taken into custody Sunday after allegedly partaking in a citywide shooting spree that left four people injured, struck two fire stations and triggered a shelter-in-place order in South Austin, the Austin Police Department said in a statement.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
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Season One of Off Campus centers hockey captain Garret Graham (Belmont Cameli) and music major Hannah Wells (Ella Bright), who start a mutually beneficial fake-dating scheme.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
22 May 2026
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Smartcards from this point on had much more powerful chips running much more powerful encryption schemes.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 May 2026
Noun
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Even when some of the tricks become apparent, each new repetition somehow delivers more than the last, though the weightless, old-school video game aesthetic of the alien monster design sticks out even more amid the stylishness of the world captured in-camera.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
22 May 2026
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Vogue consulted with masterful artists such as Tasha Reiko Brown, Amy Komorowski, Emma Day, and Aika Danica Flores to get their tricks for achieving low-key, everyday makeup looks that are undetectable to even the most trained of eyes.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ploy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ploy. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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