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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Next-Gen Anti-Ransomware Protection—Preemptive And Resilient Security Despite AV and EDR advancements, modern ransomware tactics—including encryption bypass and stealthy execution—continue to exploit gaps in endpoint defenses.—
Bob Kruse,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025 -
Second, the chairman has exploited the commission's powers to undermine the very First Amendment rights it is supposed to uphold.—
Mohammed Soliman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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It could be manipulated by the therapist or simply placed in the correct position by the individual.—
Matt Parrott,
Arkansas Online,
20 Apr. 2025
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These are powers that many politicians – including, currently, U.S. President Donald Trump – would seemingly like to control or at least manipulate.—
Ana Carolina Garriga,
The Conversation,
18 Apr. 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 3 May. 2025.
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