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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Such batteries are also much easier and safer to dispose of, and can potentially be made using cheaper and less rare materials.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026 -
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor.—
USA Today staff,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Multiple people briefed on the discussions pointed to a rising trend of teams exploiting a loophole by which players on the offensive line for a punt are not required to wear a jersey number from 50 to 79, leading to sneaky fake punt plays.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
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At the same time, hundreds of thousands of men have sought to avoid conscription by leaving the country, hiding from authorities or exploiting legal exemptions.—
Elizaveta Gaufman,
The Conversation,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While multiple members of the network have been arrested in recent years, thousands of members are still spread across the globe abusing children.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
21 Feb. 2026
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Farmer reported Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to law enforcement in 1996 for abusing her and her younger sister in New York City.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But leveraging technology is also key.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
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Other Democratic and Republican governors would be smart to follow his lead, because leveraging the largest amount of federal funds possible shouldn’t be a partisan issue.—
Susana A. Mendoza,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Hogan and his men secretly functioned as an espionage and sabotage operation, successfully manipulating the inept Germans over the course of 168 episodes.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
18 Feb. 2026
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Trump fired former Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in August, implying that the agency was manipulating labor market data under her leadership.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
18 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 26 Feb. 2026.
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