PLAYING (ON OR UPON) Synonyms: 24 Similar Words

playing (on or upon)

verb

present participle of play (on or upon)

as in imposing (on or upon)

to take unfair advantage of the candidate played on the voters' prejudices

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for playing (on or upon)

Verb

And with the National Cancer Institute preparing a major randomized trial of multicancer screening tests using cancer death as the endpoint, the agency should also consider whether approving Grail’s test will impede that work.

— H. Gilbert Welch, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026
The short treatment menu includes facials and massages, using Tribe517 products.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of using

Verb

As the unit enters its second year, its priorities remain identifying victims and building cases against those exploiting them.

— Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Still, hackers can infiltrate companies by duping an employee into installing malware on their computer or exploiting unknown vulnerabilities in their software or network.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of exploiting

Verb

As Rolling Stone and Sportico have reported, the Riverside plaintiffs all allege that the church should have known that Lorch was abusing children.

— Luke Cyphers, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Damian Reynolds, 34, was sentenced to a 20-year prison sentence — the maximum allowed under the law —after he was convicted of abusing two women, according to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.

— Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of abusing

Verb

Ellison and Kreiz emphasized that they’re equally invested in spending on original films as in leveraging that gargantuan stable of IP.

— Matt Donnelly, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Oura has, of course, tried to sell itself as more than a smart ring, leveraging its massive data set and AI tie-ins as part of a more sweeping narrative.

— Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of leveraging

Verb

Present-day police work reflects our current economic order by placing a high value on manipulating such immaterialities.

— Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
According to Treasury, Galeano had been detained in the United States in 2017 on suspicion of manipulating ATMs and was found with drugs and backpacks containing a large amount of cash.

— Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of manipulating

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playing hooky

playing (on or upon)

playing out

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“Playing (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playing%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of playing (on or upon)

verb

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