PLAY (ON OR UPON) Synonyms: 24 Similar Words

play (on or upon)

verb

Definition of play (on or upon)

as in to use

to take unfair advantage of the candidate played on the voters' prejudices

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (on or upon)

Verb

And Oscar, stunned at his victory, promises to use his winnings to take the whole cast and crew to dinner.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Many organizations don’t have a complete inventory of where cryptography is being used today.

— Evgeny Gervis, Forbes.com, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of use

Verb

That could be an area González looks to exploit Sunday, using the pace and creativity of Miami’s attacking stars to strike before San Diego can reorganize defensively.

— Tyler Carmona, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2026
The document, which was highly classified and written in Arabic, suggested that Hamas was planning to exploit the hostage families’ protests to fracture Israeli society.

— Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of exploit

Verb

Look what women can do when they’re not abused, oppressed, and angry about being abused and oppressed!

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026
Ultimately, the show attempts to draw a parallel between Lizzie Borden and Aileen Wuornos, portraying them as two women abused and mistreated by society who dared to fight back.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of abuse

Verb

Here again, negative energy densities are conceptually valid, but the question of whether humans could ever produce and manipulate them in the ways required to bring Alcubierre's warp drive into reality is another matter entirely.

— Micah Hanks, Space.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Lashify founder Sahara Lotti said his ability to manipulate the brand’s lashes and create different eye shapes first caught her attention through his work with Zendaya.

— Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of manipulate

Verb

Iren shares, which are traded on the Nasdaq, soared 1,200% over six months last year as part of the AI boom.

— Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 25 June 2026
Even after landing two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster trade on Monday night, the work is not done for the Miami Heat.

— Anthony Chiang June 23, Miami Herald, 23 June 2026

Definition of trade on

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.

Browse Nearby Words

play-offs

play (on or upon)

play out

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Play (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of play (on or upon)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

bellwether

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes