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
  • The Russian ministry said attackers had exploited a vulnerability in its app's administrative panel, prompting officials to disconnect and isolate affected services.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The connection between the French and European incidents raises questions about whether attackers exploited similar weaknesses.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of exploited
Verb
  • Some were manipulated with simpler or non-AI tools, including Photoshop.
    — Cory Smith, Baltimore Sun, 30 Oct. 2026
  • In contrast, Karmy-Jones said Brand remembers very little of the women and manipulated his account after reading the prosecution’s case.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 30 Oct. 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 4 Nov. 2026.

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