play upon
phrasal verb
played upon; playing upon; plays upon
: to make people do what one wants by using (their emotions, fears, concerns, etc.) in an unfair way
Politicians often win votes by playing upon people's emotions.
Examples of play upon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
From allowing players to immediately play upon transferring to the introduction of Name, Image, and Likeness money — which has enabled players to become free agents earning tens of thousands or even millions of dollars — the landscape around the portal has drastically changed in recent years.
—
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 1 Jan. 2026
Also on Thursday, Nacua apologized for performing a gesture that plays upon antisemitic tropes.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025
Deep ties may play upon the weak spots in your self-worth.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 16 Nov. 2025
There were questions about where Bichette would play upon his return from his knee injury, and the questions were valid.
—Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
An orchestra played upon their arrival and West displayed a message on the jumbotron asking Kim to marry him in the lavish proposal, where she was joined by her family and friends.
—Julia Moore, People.com, 13 Mar. 2025
These are the doubts that scammers and hackers play upon to ply their trades.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 22 Feb. 2025
Our costumes play upon the idea of peasants making fun of royalty.
—Jenny Adams, AFAR Media, 23 Jan. 2025
The interface is different from TikTok’s in that a video does not immediately start playing upon the app’s opening and users must log in to begin using it.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 14 Jan. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 1 Jan. 2026
Also on Thursday, Nacua apologized for performing a gesture that plays upon antisemitic tropes.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025
Deep ties may play upon the weak spots in your self-worth.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 16 Nov. 2025
There were questions about where Bichette would play upon his return from his knee injury, and the questions were valid.
—Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
An orchestra played upon their arrival and West displayed a message on the jumbotron asking Kim to marry him in the lavish proposal, where she was joined by her family and friends.
—Julia Moore, People.com, 13 Mar. 2025
These are the doubts that scammers and hackers play upon to ply their trades.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 22 Feb. 2025
Our costumes play upon the idea of peasants making fun of royalty.
—Jenny Adams, AFAR Media, 23 Jan. 2025
The interface is different from TikTok’s in that a video does not immediately start playing upon the app’s opening and users must log in to begin using it.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 14 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Play upon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20upon. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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