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
-
Republicans understand this gap and are exploiting it ruthlessly.—
Julian Baron,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Feb. 2026 -
Investigators believe the husband ruthlessly exploited his wife on a large scale, prosecutor Ida Annerstedt said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Corporations known to have manipulated rental prices & housing supply should be closely monitored.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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During the hours before and during the Super Bowl, Little said, the company detected attempts to manipulate birthdates at triple or more the usual rate.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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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 21 Feb. 2026.
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