Words in the News

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

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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. Malignant

► Harmful, malevolent, injurious. Harmfully cancerous.

► One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

► An embankment built to prevent flooding

2. Silhouette

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

► An embankment built to prevent flooding

► Something that is passed down from preceding generations; a tradition.

► A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color.

3. Repose

► Appropriateness of behavior or conduct

► Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

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

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

4. Antibody

► A Y-shaped protein on the surface of B cells that is secreted into the blood or lymph in response to an antigenic stimulus

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

► One that takes in everything available, as with the mind.

5. Lichen

► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

► One that takes in everything available, as with the mind.

► Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold

► A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,

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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.