as in to use
to take unfair advantage of
the candidate played on the voters' prejudices
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (on or upon)
Verb
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There are no fitness facilities, but guests are welcome to use Surin's large gym and a sauna just a short shuttle ride away.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Mar. 2026 -
Taylor, the policing expert, said a PIT maneuver is a strong tool, but should be used sparingly.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The regime sought to eliminate my father by exploiting divisions that emerged within MOSOP in 1993.—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
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The membrane could also enable selective separation of ions with the same electric charge by exploiting subtle differences in how ions behave under an electric field.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The three men claimed that the two-time Academy Award-winning star abused them at times between 2000 and 2013.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Animals deserve to be protected and cherished, never abused or neglected.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Whether the gun-toting influencer can successfully leverage his online presence in the remaining months before the general election remains to be seen.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
23 Mar. 2026
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Amid worries over elevated AI spending by mega-caps and AI disruption, Anmuth expects Netflix to leverage the technology to enhance content discovery and personalization, improve advertising solutions and measurement, and bring down content production costs.—
TipRanks.com Staff,
CNBC,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Orban started manipulating these grievances, and did so to significantly divide Hungarian society.—
John Shattuck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
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As machines grow more powerful, society will become increasingly effective at shaping the world, while individuals who never learned to think deeply will be easier to manipulate.—
Shai Tubali,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Play (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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