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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
  • By exploiting this feature of general relativity, warp drives could indeed work, at least in theory.
    — Micah Hanks, Space.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The Yindjibarndi have accused Fortescue of exploiting their land and damaging cultural sites.
    — Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of exploiting
Verb
  • Maeve wakes up unhinged, manipulating her not-grandson Eddie (Anson Boon) and relishing a gunfight that leaves a hole in her husband’s chest like a typical partner might celebrate a birthday party.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Posters are editing and manipulating the recordings to distort their content.
    — Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 16 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 27 Sep. 2026.

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