as in to highlight
to indicate the importance of by centering attention on
that TV news program plays up sensational stories just to get higher ratings
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of play up
Del Rio played up-and-coming lawyer Billy Martinez on the first season of Matlock.
—
Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
The tour guide may have deflected my Phantom questions, but the opera house plays up just enough of the mystery.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 3 Mar. 2026
Natasha Zinko played up the fades of men’s blue jeans.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Mar. 2026
Roy Nwaisser, who chairs the Encino Neighborhood Council’s public safety committee, said that Flock often played up the shortage of police officers during its presentations to residents in his neighborhood.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for play up
Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
The tour guide may have deflected my Phantom questions, but the opera house plays up just enough of the mystery.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 3 Mar. 2026
Natasha Zinko played up the fades of men’s blue jeans.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Mar. 2026
Roy Nwaisser, who chairs the Encino Neighborhood Council’s public safety committee, said that Flock often played up the shortage of police officers during its presentations to residents in his neighborhood.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for play up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play up
Verb
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At Kakō and Saki, guests feast on seasonal Japanese ingredients highlighting traditional and modern techniques.—
Lois Alter Mark,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
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Each has been highlighted by House Majority PAC, a Democratic outside group, in recent days.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Your 6th House of Practice and your 10th House of Work alike benefit as Mercury trines Jupiter, emphasizing the power of simple routines.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
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Jackson’s allies have emphasized the forcefulness of his message and convictions.—
Matt Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Altman stresses human oversight and legal protections After the company signed the agreement last week, Altman explained that the contract incorporates protections similar to those that were a point of contention in Anthropic’s negotiations.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
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Still, Billy stressed the importance of the French film financing mechanism, which is essentially funded by a levy on movie tickets, for helping sustain France’s position as one of the world’s most prolific filmmaking nations.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tuesday’s game featured intentional clock-stopping, game-extending fouls by the Heat.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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New offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik also comes from the same Shanahan coaching tree, and the offense should feature the wide-zone blocking scheme.—
David Furones,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Play up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20up. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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