as in to highlight
to indicate the importance of by centering attention on
that TV news program plays up sensational stories just to get higher ratings
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Examples of play up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Washington plays up the differences between Berniece and Boy Willie’s relationship to the piano with flashbacks to both of their childhoods.
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Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Aug. 2024
Similarly to Lydia, her stepmother Delia Deetz (Catherine O'Hara) plays up her artist persona while in public, wearing a graphic dress when working with a temperamental graffiti artist before slipping into an ostentatious black-and-white coat that Atwood found online.
—Irina Grechko, refinery29.com, 13 Sep. 2024
The parents plan to play up the fire as a vacation for the kids — maybe taking them camping or finding some other fun way to pass the time.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
So even though o1 is out, AI industry watchers should note how this model's impending launch was played up in the press as a dangerous advancement while not being publicly downplayed by OpenAI.
—Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for play up 
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Aug. 2024
Similarly to Lydia, her stepmother Delia Deetz (Catherine O'Hara) plays up her artist persona while in public, wearing a graphic dress when working with a temperamental graffiti artist before slipping into an ostentatious black-and-white coat that Atwood found online.
—Irina Grechko, refinery29.com, 13 Sep. 2024
The parents plan to play up the fire as a vacation for the kids — maybe taking them camping or finding some other fun way to pass the time.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
So even though o1 is out, AI industry watchers should note how this model's impending launch was played up in the press as a dangerous advancement while not being publicly downplayed by OpenAI.
—Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for play up
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Play up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20up. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
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