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
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By exploiting Bitcoin arbitrage opportunities, such as price differences between Japan and the U.S., Alameda generated daily profits up to $1 million.—
Jack Kelly,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2025 -
Airlines are making a ridiculous amount of money by selling you the promise of avoiding a middle seat or exploiting your separation anxiety or your claustrophobia.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
10 May 2025
Verb
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Life-changing events, including the loss of a spouse, early onset dementia or another medical issue, can trigger changes in the way someone would react to anyone who is experienced at manipulating people to part with their money.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
15 May 2025
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For instance, prompt injection attacks—a new twist on the traditional prompt injection attack, where malicious prompts manipulate AI behavior—require novel defensive approaches beyond conventional security controls.—
Omar Turner,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
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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 22 May. 2025.
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