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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The risk was leaving big spaces out wide that could be exploited in transition, by Juventus’ wing-backs especially.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
28 June 2025 -
Pratt’s conviction kept him behind bars for 27 years, and the case haunted Cochran, who believed Pratt was innocent and who had made a mistake at trial that prosecutors skillfully exploited.—
Christopher Goffard,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2025
Verb
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But the lesson of the ’74 Act is clear: Absent congressional will, lawmakers inevitably will find ways to manipulate their own rules to make deficits even worse.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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Our Senate and representatives are all manipulating their own power rather than running the country.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
18 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Play (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28upon%29. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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