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

In Texas, lawmakers have been exploring a ban on foreign nationals using Texas surrogates – a move surrogacy experts worry could be the first step toward a statewide ban on the practice.

— Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
The Triglav Lodge, Slovenia's highest-altitude guest hut at an elevation of 2,515 meters (8,251 feet), is using paper plates this summer to save water on dishes.

— CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of using

Verb

Before his recent arrest, Habib had a history of substantiated misconduct complaints about excessive force and abusing his authority.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Hostile SIMs can enter the wild through infected SIM software updates, rogue cellular operators abusing remote management platforms, or supply-chain tampering during manufacturing.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of abusing

Verb

Summary The Phoenix Suns extended forward Dillon Brooks for three years, $73 million, leveraging the NBA's Larry Bird exception.

— Barry M. Bloom, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Planners can automate the flow of a product throughout its lifecycle in a way that optimizes full-price sales by leveraging the forecast based on actual sales.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of leveraging

Verb

Sandoval’s ex, Dillon Maquindang, stood at a podium Thursday morning and decried the defendant for cheating on them, manipulating them and taking out his failures on Maquindang’s family.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026
In recent years, totalizing ideologies such as communism, fascism, and Islamism have found dedicated audiences on social media, and the proliferation of demagogues manipulating people for malign ends is an ever-present worry.

— James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 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 21 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of playing (on or upon)

verb

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