played (upon)

verb

past tense of play (upon)
as in exploited
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 played (upon)
  1. exploited
  2. manipulated
Verb
  • Think beyond immediate threats and consider how routine data trails can be exploited over time.
    — Erik Wittreich, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Critics, including public health experts and food scientists, have long said the industry has exploited the rule to introduce thousands of unstudied chemicals into the nation’s food supply, potentially endangering public health.
    — Erika Edwards, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of exploited
Verb
  • This limits the damage if the agent behaves unexpectedly, is manipulated by malicious input or uses credentials improperly.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • This is a town where almost everybody’s breasts have been sliced, diced, manipulated, and put back together.
    — Huntley Woods, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of manipulated
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.

Browse Nearby Words

played up
played (upon)
played (with)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Played (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/played%20%28upon%29. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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