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)
Verb
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Social media has exploited this tendency, driving an algorithmic wedge into our society that the founders could hardly have imagined.
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The book is often about the ways in which wellness and self-care have become commodified and exploited — having to level up to buy things in order to feel good.
Verb
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In April 2026, the New England Journal of Medicine retracted a paper after discovering that a clinical image had been manipulated with AI.
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Predictive markets, like sports betting, can be manipulated.
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Cite this Entry
“Played (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/played%20%28upon%29. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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