1
as in ruses
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in sprees
a time or instance of carefree fun
wanted one grand ploy through Europe before settling down and raising a family
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ploys
There’s the White House and its malicious megaphone of mindlessness; the generative AI advocates and their pushy, pathetic ploys; the Major League Baseball owners and their dedication to self-destruction.
—
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
Their poverty, the fruit of Salieri’s malicious ploys, tests the limits of their endurance.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
There are numerous other bold characters getting tangled up in new ploys aimed at giving them a step up in a world that wants to keep them tamped down.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026
Carr throws the event, Liberty shows up with bagpipers, but both ploys fall flat with Dina.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Workers in the scam compounds are often trafficked from third countries, usually under the pretense of a lucrative job offer, and then forced to scam people online with investment pitches or romantic ploys.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
Scammers are improving their ploys to be even more convincing.
—Summer Stephan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2025
As with all Survivor ploys, if the rules don’t explicitly forbid it — heck, get in there and work it to your advantage!
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
Their poverty, the fruit of Salieri’s malicious ploys, tests the limits of their endurance.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
There are numerous other bold characters getting tangled up in new ploys aimed at giving them a step up in a world that wants to keep them tamped down.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026
Carr throws the event, Liberty shows up with bagpipers, but both ploys fall flat with Dina.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Workers in the scam compounds are often trafficked from third countries, usually under the pretense of a lucrative job offer, and then forced to scam people online with investment pitches or romantic ploys.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
Scammers are improving their ploys to be even more convincing.
—Summer Stephan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2025
As with all Survivor ploys, if the rules don’t explicitly forbid it — heck, get in there and work it to your advantage!
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ploys
Noun
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The New York Colored American reported that some offers of short-term work for Black men — moving livestock to or from Kentucky, for example — were ruses that ended with kidnappings.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Many suspect a spam call and don't pick up the phone, leading foundation staff to sometimes devise ruses.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
jsonline.com,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In general, her scoring sprees feel more sustainable and less like streaky bursts of shooting.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
26 Feb. 2026
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So far, federal prosecutors in Minnesota have convicted 62 people in connection to the scandal, which tops the list of the nation's most costly COVID-era fraud sprees.—
Jonah Kaplan,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Madigan, meanwhile, was convicted in a separate trial of an array of schemes that included the ComEd bribery payments.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
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Butterfly Jam revolves around a teenager growing up in New Jersey’s Circassian community, with dreams of becoming a wrestler, whose life takes an unexpected turn when one of his father’s misguided schemes goes wrong.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Prosecutors say the pair threw two devices containing the explosive TATP and shrapnel, but the jar-sized bombs failed to detonate.—
Erica Byfield,
NBC news,
16 Apr. 2026
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This nifty little Anker portable power bank can juice up small devices (think AirPods, iPads, and phones) in a pinch.—
Abbey Hudetz,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Payment processors grew suspicious despite Cotter’s tricks, and by 2020 the US Postal Inspection Service had launched an investigation.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
13 Apr. 2026
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The mother-daughter duo coordinated in shades of cream and brown, with Charlotte even borrowing some of her mom's styling tricks (both wore the British brand Self-Portrait, for example).—
Emma Banks,
InStyle,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ploys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ploys. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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