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
Bills quarterback Josh Allen exploited the holes in their quick pass defense expertly last week, going 12-of-14 for 134 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
—
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
Countries that qualify as banana republics, typically Latin American ones, tend to have an economy dependent on a single commodity, a large and exploited working class, and a tiny upper class with a stake in that commodity, which gets to enjoy the fruits of the poor’s labor.
—Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.
—Haley Ott, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
In an op-ed for The Guardian newspaper, the actress and writer wrote that, if unchecked by safeguards and regulation, artificial intelligence will lead to child stars and other young people being exploited on the internet.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2026
While the team had been exploited in transition in the previous three defeats, Stokic still believes transition is a strength of his team.
—Nathan Dunn, Kansas City Star, 19 Jan. 2026
Vincent Feuray | Afp | Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency closed a loophole this week that Elon Musk’s xAI had exploited to rapidly stand up its first data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
—Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent research indicates builders exploited natural limestone stratification and used ropes and manpower to move pillars short distances.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Jan. 2026
Their quick combination play exploited the opposition’s high press.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
Countries that qualify as banana republics, typically Latin American ones, tend to have an economy dependent on a single commodity, a large and exploited working class, and a tiny upper class with a stake in that commodity, which gets to enjoy the fruits of the poor’s labor.
—Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.
—Haley Ott, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
In an op-ed for The Guardian newspaper, the actress and writer wrote that, if unchecked by safeguards and regulation, artificial intelligence will lead to child stars and other young people being exploited on the internet.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2026
While the team had been exploited in transition in the previous three defeats, Stokic still believes transition is a strength of his team.
—Nathan Dunn, Kansas City Star, 19 Jan. 2026
Vincent Feuray | Afp | Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency closed a loophole this week that Elon Musk’s xAI had exploited to rapidly stand up its first data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
—Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent research indicates builders exploited natural limestone stratification and used ropes and manpower to move pillars short distances.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Jan. 2026
Their quick combination play exploited the opposition’s high press.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exploited
Verb
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More than a decade ago, the organic farmer began to notice that the pet occasionally picked up sticks and used them to scratch herself — a behavior that is known though not often recorded — and captured her in action as her technique improved.—
Leslie Katz,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Basically, a mechanical computer, where the clicking and clacking of wheels and gears serves to generate new sentences, a randomizer used for novel literature.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Freedom from fear mattered because frightened societies are easily manipulated.—
Philip Martin,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
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In some cases, CBS News ran images through AI detection tools, which can be inconsistent or inaccurate but can still help flag possibly manipulated content.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The force utilized by Sterling Heights Police Officer conforms to Michigan law, as well as applicable agency policy, standards, and guidelines.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
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In the United Kingdom, fashion consumption utilized 30,258 square kilometers of land, or roughly the same size as Belgium, in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The department has said the release of the files was delayed by redactions required to protect the identities of those who were abused.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2026
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Tobin became an early advocate for establishing regulatory thresholds to distinguish intentional administration from environmental exposure to drugs commonly abused by humans.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Four of the candidates appeared on the November ballot, one previously applied for an interim position, and the remaining candidate, an independent, has an unclear political background in a city where being Republican is almost essential to run for office.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
13 Jan. 2026
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The commission also emphasized that Verizon’s stricter unlocking obligations never applied industry-wide.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The men leveraged their success and used it to attract women, who, their lawyers insist, participated willingly.—
Sasha Pezenik,
ABC News,
20 Jan. 2026
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Bollen’s own professional background is in market research, and, being well versed in the ways in which popular credulity is leveraged, she is also equipped to cast skepticism upon research findings whose standards fall short.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This heightened focus is prompting enterprises to rethink where AI is developed, how data is stored and employed, which chips are used, and who controls the infrastructure.—
Costi Perricos,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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For comparison, hourly pay ranged from $350 to $650 for lawyers employed by Connecticut at the governor’s and attorney general’s offices.—
Josie Reich,
Hartford Courant,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Drawing on decades of experience in nuclear physics and accelerator technology, the institute has now harnessed tandem accelerator techniques to achieve complete independent design capability.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Jan. 2026
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The team also found that the reconstructed ancestral enzymes were easier to produce in micro-organisms, such as yeast cells, than modern-day types, which mean they can be harnessed to synthesize cannabinoids more efficiently.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exploited.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exploited. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.
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