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. Suffrage

► The right or privilege of voting; franchise.

► A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.

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

► The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

2. Renaissance

► A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.

► A rebirth or revival.

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

► Of, relating to, or occurring in the night

3. Wretched

► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

► To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion.

► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.

► Any of various nonplacental mammals, including kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and wombats, found principally in Australia and the Americas.

4. Toxin

► Any of several rod-shaped bacteria, of the genus Salmonella, that cause food poisoning and other diseases.

► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

► A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.

5. Chronology

► To proclaim publicly

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

► The arrangement of events in time

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

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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.