ploys

noun

plural of ploy
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ploys Paramount has tried various ploys to put political pressure on Bonta — op-eds, letters from allies, threats to leave California, politicians’ statements — which Bonta has largely brushed off. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026 Lyman Ward played Ferris' dad, whose busy work schedule kept him conveniently distracted from his teenage son's ploys. — Emma Urdangen, PEOPLE, 14 June 2026 No tactical ploys or tweaks could save him. — Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 25 May 2026 While court orders that block counterfeiters can help to safeguard intellectual property, sometimes those counterfeiters simply turn to other aliases and cybersquatting ploys to continue their activities. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 May 2026 After several unsuccessful ploys by his henchmen to save his life — including one that would be attempted post-hanging — Cardinella was down to one last try. — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ploys
  1. ruses
  2. sprees
  3. schemes
  4. devices
  5. tricks
Noun
  • There’s a delightful secret history of Hollywood directors whose ruses and stratagems bought them an unusual amount of leeway with their scripts.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Even before pro-party AI ruses were possible, the Chinese government and its supporters flooded social media with pro-China propaganda and vicious attacks on critics.
    — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of ruses
Noun
  • Anthropic, Meta and Google have since reported similar autonomous hacking sprees.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, every day, SNAP theft sprees keep popping up in new corners of the country.
    — Eli Hager, ProPublica, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of sprees
Noun
  • The prevalence of money laundering schemes is an indication to Hall that more regulations are needed to address retail theft.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Bill Essayli traded barbs at dueling healthcare fraud news conferences in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday morning, sniping at each other over billions lost to benefits schemes and the increasingly politicized efforts to stop them.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of schemes
Noun
  • Every transformer on the grid—from the cylinders perched on utility lines to the big spiky devices at substations—trades voltage for current at a fixed ratio.
    — Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Within a day, the researcher began seeing active scanning of the simulated Plex server and eventually successful attempts to infect devices.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of devices
Noun
  • Here are some easy tricks to make your soups tastier and healthier.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Unsurprisingly, writers have developed a myriad of strategies and tricks to push through this awkward stage.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of tricks

Browse Nearby Words

ploy
ploys
pluck
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Cite this Entry

“Ploys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ploys. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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