as in imposing (on or upon)
to take unfair advantage of
the candidate played on the voters' prejudices
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playing (on or upon)
Verb
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Though Amelia is a particularly viral example, using AI to generate content was already a popular pastime for the online right in Britain.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026 -
Those who bought the checks would then attempt to fraudulently cash them, according to federal prosecutors, using a variety of methods.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors said the former actor weaponized his reputation as a Lakota medicine man, exploiting cultural traditions and spiritual beliefs to prey on Indigenous women and girls.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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These can include sabotaging infrastructure to foment unrest, subtly interfering with training exercises to undermine Arctic capabilities, and exploiting divisions in adversarial alliances.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Labor Department inspector general's office has interviewed staff in connection with the investigation, which followed a complaint that Chavez-DeRemer was having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and abusing her office.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Jan. 2026
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Benny isn’t abusing his daughter.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As opposed to going and auctioning off and leveraging our future on a hope.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
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By leveraging knowledge already embedded in large video models, Cosmos Policy reduces the amount of robot-specific data needed to learn reliable control behaviors.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Senior figures within the DA have accused one another of abusing power and manipulating state institutions, drawing South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog into what is, in effect, an internal leadership battle.—
Sam Mkokeli,
semafor.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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As expected, the arm opposite the brain injury often has major problems with weakness, stiffness and voluntary control, limiting its use for reaching, grasping and manipulating objects.—
Candice Maenza,
The Conversation,
2 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Playing (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playing%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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