playing (upon)

verb

present participle of play (upon)
as in exploiting
to control or take advantage of by artful, unfair, or insidious means played upon the customer's vanity to convince her to buy the expensive makeup kit

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for playing (upon)
  1. exploiting
  2. manipulating
Verb
  • Balochistan has endured a long-running insurgency by groups that accuse Pakistan of discriminating against the province and exploiting its natural resources.
    — MUNIR AHMED, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The Trasks encounter a wide swath of citizens, haggling with sneaky cheats, exploiting innocent fools, and befriending big-hearted neighbors.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of exploiting
Verb
  • Different views on the topic The administration and its supporters reject the claim that their election efforts are aimed at disrupting or manipulating voting.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
  • That distinction is important as humanoid robots become increasingly capable of balancing, walking, and manipulating objects.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of manipulating
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.

Browse Nearby Words

playing up
playing (upon)
playing (with)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Playing (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playing%20%28upon%29. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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