1
as in used
to take unfair advantage of
the type of person who exploits a friend's good nature by constantly sponging off of him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in manipulated
to control or take advantage of by artful, unfair, or insidious means
a politician more than willing to exploit any national tragedy for political gain
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in utilized
to put into action or service
it will be a shame if you don't exploit your artistic talent to the fullest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of exploited
The ring allegedly exploited a large-scale humanitarian effort used to ship aid and commercial goods into the shattered enclave.
—
Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet venture is increasingly being seen as critical infrastructure that can be targeted or exploited in geopolitical conflicts.
—J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Lawsuit abuse occurs when our civil liability laws — designed to protect people genuinely harmed as a result of someone else’s negligence — are instead exploited for financial gain.
—Elizabeth Heck, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2026
Still, today's lower price needs to be exploited strategically, too, and investors should remember to keep the precious metals portion of their portfolio limited to a maximum of 10%.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Students should not be exploited as cash cows for the political scheming of adults.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 3 Feb. 2026
Of course, any rival teams which haven’t exploited the same point of the regulations will want to pull back the competition, fearing a possible performance deficit.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.
—Ezra Klein, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
Step off the ship and onto an island that was once exploited for sand excavation, one that has now been transformed into a pristine natural paradise.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet venture is increasingly being seen as critical infrastructure that can be targeted or exploited in geopolitical conflicts.
—J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Lawsuit abuse occurs when our civil liability laws — designed to protect people genuinely harmed as a result of someone else’s negligence — are instead exploited for financial gain.
—Elizabeth Heck, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2026
Still, today's lower price needs to be exploited strategically, too, and investors should remember to keep the precious metals portion of their portfolio limited to a maximum of 10%.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Students should not be exploited as cash cows for the political scheming of adults.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 3 Feb. 2026
Of course, any rival teams which haven’t exploited the same point of the regulations will want to pull back the competition, fearing a possible performance deficit.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.
—Ezra Klein, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
Step off the ship and onto an island that was once exploited for sand excavation, one that has now been transformed into a pristine natural paradise.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exploited
Verb
-
In 2004, when China used a similar amount of energy per person as India does now, coal was about ten times cheaper than solar.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Another internal document Lanier showed from YouTube suggested that the video streaming platform be used as a short-term digital babysitter while parents cook, clean or do laundry.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Last year, many were convinced American politics would be destabilized by videos manipulated by artificial intelligence, or lulled into a post-truth stupor by AI slop.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
What’s interesting is the NBA has moved away from some events that either have become stale or manipulated, such as the skills competition giving way at next week’s All-Star Weekend.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And there was a lot of discussion about AI, but it really wasn’t being utilized in film and television production.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2026
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Of those 1,000 tags, 750 were utilized by hunters and 379 were filled.—
Kris Millgate,
Outdoor Life,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Saxon had abused the woman for years, fracturing her hip and nose and causing internal bleeding, a judge found in a ruling ordering him detained pending trial.—
Ryan J. Foley,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
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He is estimated to have abused at least 1,000 women and children over decades of secret operations, the Justice Department said.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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No uniform criteria applied based on services or caseloads.—
Raynee Howell,
Oklahoma Watch,
9 Feb. 2026
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Each transaction carries a trace of the rules applied, which Mercans portrays as crucial for auditability and corporate governance in multinational environments.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Feminist campaigners say this new phenomenon represents a violation of privacy and is leveraged to publicly shame women.—
Ivana Scatola,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
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In return, perpetual networker Epstein leveraged the relationship with Josephson to gain deep entry into Hollywood.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Rerouting the current $17,670 adoption tax credit to married parents for each of their own newborns, as long as one parent is employed.—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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The owner of Joe Gibbs Racing — which has employed Hamlin as a driver for decades — has lost two sons in his lifetime.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Beyond creating the underlying models that generate code, AI is also being harnessed to create the interfaces that customers and developers outside the company use to write code.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
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Over the years, as the area developed, the mill harnessed the force of the river to run a corn and flour mill, and later a hydroelectric power station.—
Paula Allen,
San Antonio Express-News,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exploited.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exploited. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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