as in to exploit
to control or take advantage of by artful, unfair, or insidious means
played upon the customer's vanity to convince her to buy the expensive makeup kit
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (upon)
Verb
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So far, there are no reports of the usbliter8 bug being exploited in the wild.
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However, Nawrocki is a nationalist politician who has exploited anti-Ukrainian sentiment for electoral gain.
Verb
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Pro-Russian groups are bombarding popular AI systems with propaganda to coax chatbots into regurgitating Kremlin talking points, according to senior European officials, raising concerns ahead of America’s midterm elections about how to respond to the growing attempt to silently manipulate voters.
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States can also counter flag-of-convenience laundering by using financial intelligence to trace flag payments, reveal risks to insurers and financiers, and push rapid-deflagging for AIS-manipulating ships.
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“Play (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28upon%29. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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