Thesaurus results for PLAY (UPON)

play (upon)

verb

Definition of play (upon)

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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (upon)

Verb

Now, in yet another blow to national self-esteem, the ex-head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, has been arrested on charges of exploiting state secrets.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 17 Oct. 2026
Major cringe, on the other hand, navigates the aesthetic affect critically and formally to induce it—viscerally exploiting its possibilities.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of exploit

Verb

Its tech helped investigators find that former Toronto Raptors big man Jontay Porter manipulated his play on behalf of bettors.

— Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Instead of filming hands of actual workers, young men with GoPro cameras strapped to their heads record themselves doing jobs while holding and manipulating what look like grippy robot claws.

— Diaa Hadid, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of manipulate

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.

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play up

play (upon)

playwear

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“Play (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28upon%29. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of play (upon)

verb

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