PLAYING Synonyms: 170 Similar and Opposite Words

playing

verb

present participle of play

as in recreating

to engage in activity for amusement told her son that he needed some time to run and play in the yard after his hard work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in performing

to present a portrayal or performance of played Hamlet in the campus production of the classic

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in mocking

to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior stop playing the innocent, because I know that you were behind that prank

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in lounging

to spend time in aimless activity just played around while we waited for the bus to arrive

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in managing

to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently this is how we're going to play the situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in putting

to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event figuring that she had little to lose, she played her last few bucks on the state lottery

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of playing Thanks for playing — and share your scores in the comments! —

Mark Cooper, New York Times, 7 May 2026 Paul and Barlow spent several minutes in the second half playing in the frontcourt, giving Nurse options to switch seamlessly while playing small when other Sixers bigs dealt with foul trouble. —

Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 7 May 2026 My character is childhood best friends with Lily’s character, who’s getting close with Brie, who’s playing a huge movie star. —

Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 6 May 2026 And now two different studies published in the journal Nature — one connecting the long-term health of adults with their thymic health and the other analyzing cancer therapy outcomes and thymic health — point to the thymus playing an important role in wellness. —

Devika Rao, TheWeek, 6 May 2026 Lillard joins an ensemble that includes Nicholas Hoult playing Lex Luthor, Lars Eidinger as Brainiac, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathon Fillion as Guy Gardner and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific. —

Justin Kroll, Deadline, 6 May 2026 The couple previously sat between Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Ben Stiller at the Garden on April 28, while the Knicks were still playing their first round series against the Atlanta Hawks. —

Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026 Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. —

Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026 As the Ado Annie-like Betsy, a horny teen-ager whose father owns a shotgun, Kurtz is playing a character who should be, and kind of is, a one-joke punch line. —

Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for playing

Verb

Students are recreating history — literally — as the country prepares to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

— Wakisha Bailey, CBS News, 1 May 2026
The production spent three months shooting at altitudes of between 3,000 to 3,500 meters (9,800 to 11,400 ft) close to sites of the real-life events in Italy’s Aosta Valley, with the production also recreating the pillar in three parts in a studio.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2026