as in used
to take unfair advantage of
the candidate played on the voters' prejudices
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for played (on or upon)
Verb
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The two victims told police that the suspects had used antisemitic language during the incident but police did not further specify what was said.—
Caelyn Pender,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026 -
The study demonstrates a new level of miniaturization and scalability for optical beam-combining hardware used in high-power laser systems.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Even more concerning, one of them is already being exploited by attackers.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Mar. 2026
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After Europeans arrived, the islands were exploited for the military, ranching, drilling, and fishing.—
Betsy Andrews,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Subscribers’ oral argument Arguing for the subscribers, attorney Amanda Bonn of Susman Godfrey maintained that Gutierrez abused his discretion.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
11 Mar. 2026
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During that time, court officials said Gillespie abused his position for personal gain.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The economists hope that, like some past technologies, AI could be leveraged in ways to improve human performance in existing jobs while also creating all sorts of new jobs for people to do.—
Greg Rosalsky,
NPR,
10 Mar. 2026
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On the brand-building front, Atkin leveraged her experience backstage from fashion shows and on red carpets with a visual-first approach with Ouai.—
James Manso,
Footwear News,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Easter changes date every year, and the blooms on sale are carefully manipulated to bloom on time.—
Becky Wern,
Florida Times-Union,
7 Mar. 2026
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In the lab setting, various atmospheric variables can be precisely manipulated to closely understand the phenomenon.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Played (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/played%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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