EXPLOITS Synonyms: 138 Similar and Opposite Words

exploits 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of exploit

as in abuses

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

as in manipulates

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

as in uses

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

exploits

2 of 2

noun

plural of exploit

as in feats

an act of notable skill, strength, or cleverness the fanciful exploits of the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in things

something done by someone once famed as an actor, John Wilkes Booth is now remembered for a single exploit, his assassination of Lincoln

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in experiences

an exciting or noteworthy event that one experiences firsthand a memoir recounting three decades of exploits as a roving foreign correspondent for TV news

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 exploits

Verb

At each turn, a heartbreaking picture comes into sharper focus, underscoring Ricki’s destructive appetite that exploits Rita’s deepest needs and fears under the guise of friendship and no-judgement sisterhood. — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026 One method exploits the weaknesses of a game’s random number generator (RNG) to obtain specific Pokémon; it’s appropriately known as RNG manipulation. — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 25 Aug. 2026 In both the show and book, John recognizes Lucky’s talent for reading people at a young age, uses her own trust in him to his advantage in his schemes and exploits his daughter in order to exploit others. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026 Deed theft often exploits grief, financial distress, inheritance disputes and the limited resources of older homeowners. — Landon Dais, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026 Russian ballistic attacks have risen fast in recent weeks, hitting the capital Kyiv particularly hard, as Moscow exploits Ukraine’s near-zero stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles. — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026 Experts from Socure, IBM, and Accenture highlight that AI fraud exploits employees, payment systems, and decision-makers. — Ray Fernandez, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 Unfortunately, marketing often exploits these vulnerabilities. — J. Todd R. Lawrence, STAT, 27 July 2026 The scholar sees Cuba’s future in natural gas, an energy source the Cuban government already exploits in partnership with the Canadian company Sherritt International. — Sarah Moreno, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026

Noun

This creates a window for threat actors to attempt to rapidly reverse engineer patches and develop exploits ahead of downstream stable releases. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026 Still, the overly detailed recounting of their high-society exploits becomes tedious and makes the book feel unnecessarily long. — Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026 His exploits as a crack addict were legendary, his fall was well known and epic. — David Manheim, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026 Otherwise, after decades of exclusion, Syria could return to the regional map merely as a fragile conduit for others’ commercial exploits. — Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026 Walker’s latest exploits as a sprinter came earlier this month at the AAU Junior Olympic Games at Drake. — Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 The group behind the Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks has a new way to monetize its exploits, including asking for $169,000 in cryptocurrency for anyone interested in contacting them. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026 Tebow and Wuerffel are known for their good works as much as their football exploits, with their Florida careers providing them a bigger platform. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026 These exploits require some due diligence — especially with STI rates on the rise among people 55 and up. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 21 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for exploits

Verb

Detectives will continue investigating these cases aggressively, and anyone who abuses their position with a child will be held accountable.

— Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026
New York City’s child welfare agency routinely abuses its emergency power to take children from their parents without a court order, creating lifelong consequences for families, a new class-action lawsuit seeking to end the practice alleged Thursday.

— Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026

Definition of abuses

Verb

In an interview with the Shade Room last year, Knight’s son, Shanga Hankerson, claimed McDowell pushed the singer into performing and manipulates her.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
An anxiety ring is a piece of jewelry with a spinning band, bead or textured surface that the wearer manipulates with their fingers as a discreet grounding tool.

— Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of manipulates

Verb

Thankfully, the bathroom lines at Venice intermissions are not too long, as 70 percent of the audience uses the opportunity to duck out and have a smoke.

— Nate Jones, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026
It’s powered by a lithium-ion battery and uses two drive motors and a pair of bulldozer-style treads to navigate the floor, walls, and waterline of your pool.

— John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of uses

Noun

Circus veterans and musical-theater pros merge skills onstage, with performers learning trapeze, aerial work and puppetry under collaborative leaders who emphasize one unified troupe — and absolute trust during death-defying feats.

— Jenelle Riley, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Conrad and Gordon performed eight different science experiments, but perhaps one of their most striking feats was the artificial gravity demonstration.

— Tariq Malik, Space.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of feats

Noun

Erin then complains about her daughter and drones on about all sorts of things that no one can even pretend to care about.

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2026
These were pretty innocuous in the grand scheme of things, but were hanging as a PR headache for Ferrari heading to its home race.

— Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of things

Noun

The audience, aware of Fauci’s experiences to come in the covid era, arrives with its own baggage.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
In the classroom, social and emotional learning is embedded into the day‘s lessons, staff have been trained on helping students exposed to traumatic experiences, and counseling services are available.

— Francesca Pinney, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of experiences

Verb

Related Stories The partnership leverages the synergies between the scale of HiMaxx’s retail channels and its expertise in brand management to drive brand value and market growth.

— Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2026
Clascoterone 5% topical solution leverages the same active ingredient used in Winlevi, Cosmo’s acne treatment product.

— Avalon Pernell, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of leverages

Verb

Tresnjak’s production, which utilizes the 1956 adaptation by Maurice Valency, centers on the small town of Güllen, which is facing financial ruin.

— Jenelle Riley, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Metz’s essay observes how The Bear utilizes the similar techniques as previous Golden Age of Television series (like The Sopranos and Game of Thrones) to exaggerate small-scale conflict to melodramatic proportions.

— Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of utilizes

Browse Nearby Words

exploiting

exploits

exploration

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Exploits.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exploits. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of exploits

verb

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

facsimile

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes