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play

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of play

1 activity engaged in to amuse oneself
  • it's such a delight to watch the children in their play
Synonyms of play

dalliance, frolic, frolicking, fun, fun and games, recreation, relaxation, rollicking, sport
Words Related to play

gamboling (or gambolling), romping

amusement, diversion, entertainment

hobby, hobbyhorse, pastime

delight, enjoyment, pleasance, pleasure

friskiness, playfulness, sportiveness, wantonness

devilment, devilry (or deviltry), hanky-panky, hob, impishness, jinks, knavery, mischief, mischievousness, rascality, roguishness, waggery

binge, fling, kick, lark, revel, rollick, spree

hilarity, merriment, merrymaking, revelry, whoopee

buffoonery, high jinks (also hijinks), horseplay, tomfoolery
Near Antonyms of play

drudgery, labor, work

duty, obligation, responsibility
2 a written work in which the story is told through speech and action that is intended to be acted out on stage
  • we'll be putting on a school play using that stage
Synonyms of play

drama, dramatization
Words Related to play

interlude, playlet

comedy, comedy drama, docudrama, dramedy, melodrama, monodrama, musical, musical comedy, psychodrama, tragedy, tragicomedy

magnum opus, opus, work

adaptation
3 an attitude or manner not to be taken seriously
  • I didn't mean to insult anyone, for it was all just play
Synonyms of play

fun, game, jest, sport
Words Related to play

facetiousness, flightiness, flippancy, frivolity, frivolousness, frothiness, levity, light-mindedness, silliness
Near Antonyms of play

earnestness, gravity, seriousness, soberness, sobriety, solemnity
Antonyms of play

earnest
4 the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose
  • the host's sense of humor was obviously in play during the awards ceremony
Synonyms of play

application, employment, exercise, operation, usage, use
Words Related to play

exertion

reuse
Near Antonyms of play

disuse, nonuse
5 a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
  • the guy at the bar made an unusually creative play to get her phone number
Synonyms of play

artifice, device, dodge, fetch, flimflam, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, ploy, ruse, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, stratagem, trick, wile
Words Related to play

bluff, end run, feint

cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, crookery, cunning, deception, dupery, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery

fraud, gaff, hoax, sham, swindle

blind, front, smoke screen
Phrases Synonymous with play

sleight of hand

Synonym Discussion of play

fun, jest, sport, game, play mean action or speech that provides amusement or arouses laughter. fun usually implies laughter or gaiety but may imply merely a lack of serious or ulterior purpose.
    • played cards just for fun
jest implies lack of earnestness and may suggest a hoaxing or teasing.
    • hurt by remarks said only in jest
sport applies especially to the arousing of laughter against someone.
    • teasing begun in sport led to anger
game is close to sport, and often stresses mischievous or malicious fun.
    • made game of their poor relations
play stresses the opposition to earnest without implying any malice or mischief.
    • pretended to strangle his brother in play

play

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of play

1 to engage in activity for amusement
  • told her son that he needed some time to run and play in the yard after his hard work
Synonyms of play

dally, disport, frolic, recreate, rollick, skylark, sport, toy
Words Related to play

cavort, frisk, gambol, romp

dabble, trifle

amuse, divert, entertain

delight, please

dabble, fiddle (around), mess around, putter (around)

bum (around), dawdle, goldbrick, hang, hang about [British], idle, loaf, lounge (around or about), relax, rest, screw around, slack (off)

jest, joke, tease
Near Antonyms of play

drudge, labor, plod, plug (away), slave, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, work
2 to present a portrayal or performance of
  • played Hamlet in the campus production of the classic
Synonyms of play

act, do, impersonate, interpret, perform, portray
Words Related to play

depict, dramatize, render, represent

act out, enact, pantomime, playact, role-play, take on

overact, overplay, underplay

ape, clown, ham, imitate, masquerade, mime, mimic, pose (as)

star (in)

coact, costar
3 to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior
  • stop playing the innocent, because I know that you were behind that prank
Synonyms of play

act, impersonate, masquerade (as), personate, pose (as)
Words Related to play

ape, copy, imitate, mime, mimic, mock, monkey, parody, travesty

perform, portray
4 to spend time in aimless activity
  • just played around while we waited for the bus to arrive
Synonyms of play

doodle, fiddle (around), fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang about [British], kick around, mess around, monkey (around), potter (around), putter (around), trifle
Words Related to play

dally, dawdle, dillydally, hang (around or out), idle, loaf, loll, lounge

clown (around), horse around

diddle (with), tinker
Near Antonyms of play

buckle (down), knuckle down, set (to), settle (down)
5 to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently
  • this is how we're going to play the situation
Synonyms of play

address, contend (with), cope (with), field, grapple (with), hack, handle, manage, maneuver, manipulate, negotiate, swing, take, treat
Words Related to play

engineer, finesse, jockey

bring off, carry off, carry out, get off, pull

command, direct, guide, steer

control, micromanage, regulate, run

react (to), respond (to)
Phrases Synonymous with play

come to grips with, have a grip on
Near Antonyms of play

botch, bungle, foozle, fumble, goof (up), louse up, mess (up), mishandle, muff, scamp
6 to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event
  • figuring that she had little to lose, she played her last few bucks on the state lottery
Synonyms of play

bet, gamble, go, lay, put, stake, wager
Words Related to play

bid, offer

adventure, chance, hazard, speculate, venture

endanger, imperil, jeopardize

play (on or upon)

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of play (on or upon)

to take unfair advantage of
  • the candidate played on the voters' prejudices
Synonyms of play (on or upon)

abuse, capitalize (on), cash in (on), exploit, impose (on or upon), leverage, milk, pimp, use, work
Words Related to play (on or upon)

jerk around, manipulate, mistreat

bleed, cheat, fleece, overcharge, skin, soak, stick

commercialize, commodify
Phrases Synonymous with play (on or upon)

trade on, walk on

play (upon)

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of play (upon)

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 of play (upon)

exploit, manipulate
Words Related to play (upon)

engineer, finagle, jockey, maneuver

beguile, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fool, gull, hoax, hoodwink, kid, shanghai, snow, take in, trick

intrigue, machinate, plot, scheme

arrange, contrive, devise, finesse, mastermind

cheat, chisel, con, defraud, fleece, gyp, hustle, swindle

play (with)

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of play (with)

to handle thoughtlessly, ignorantly, or mischievously
  • please don't play with the telephone
Synonyms of play (with)

diddle (with), fiddle (with), fool (with), mess (with), monkey (with), tamper (with), tinker (with), toy (with), twiddle (with)
Words Related to play (with)

abuse, alter, doctor, manhandle, manipulate, mistreat, misuse

butt in, interfere, intrude, meddle, muck (about or around)

Learn More about play

  1. See words that rhyme with play Dictionary: Definition of play Spanish Central: Translation of play Nglish: Translation of play for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of play for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about play

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