as in to use
to take unfair advantage of
the candidate played on the voters' prejudices
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (on or upon)
Verb
-
In the third, La Mirada used a single and two walks to load the bases with two outs but Escobar escaped when shortstop Angie Jimenez snagged a line drive.—
Dan Albano,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026 -
Norrased, who did most of the communication with the villagers in Thai, taught them how to correctly use the mouthpiece for the oxygen tanks.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
Ramaphosa accused these groups of exploiting migration anxieties to sow division through lawlessness and violence.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
8 June 2026
-
This feels less like a billing problem and more like a system failure that the company is exploiting.—
Christopher Elliott,
Mercury News,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Moreover, the states often abused their authority, both over their own citizens and with regard to each other.—
Jordan Cash,
The Conversation,
8 June 2026
-
And did the court abuse its discretion by imposing the 60-year minimum?—
Tom Olsen,
Twin Cities,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Swann’s comments echoed Duncan’s assessment that exchanging stock is a way for asset-rich tech workers who struggle to find housing to leverage their paper wealth.—
Jacqueline Munis,
Fortune,
7 June 2026
-
Again, consider events in Iran, where press reports suggest that Iran leveraged Chinese commercial companies’ satellite imagery to effectively target US military facilities throughout the Gulf.—
Michael P. Dempsey,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2026
Verb
-
That echoes findings of a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which visited Yerevan in May and said foreign interference included illicit political financing, cyberattacks, economic coercion and direct attempts to manipulate the electoral process.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
-
The number then becomes harder to interpret and easier to manipulate.—
James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
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.
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 12 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
