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. Laconic

► A dense evergreen forest occupying a tropical region with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches.

► To take in by elaborate methods of deceit

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

► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.

2. Bizarre

► Strikingly unconventional and far-fetched in style or appearance; odd

► Enforced isolation or restriction of free movement imposed to prevent the spread of contagious disease.

► A schedule of prices or fees.

► A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen.

3. Ellipse

► The locus of points for which the sum of the distances from each point to two fixed points is equal

► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

► The pattern produced on a photosensitive medium that has been exposed by holography and then photographically developed.

4. Participle

► Incorrectness of reasoning or belief

► The pattern produced on a photosensitive medium that has been exposed by holography and then photographically developed.

► Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

► A form of a verb that in some languages, such as English, can function independently as an adjective.

5. Renegade

► A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation

► Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

► A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts.

► One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.

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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.