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)
Verb
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Quantum systems promise new ways to solve specific classes of problems by exploiting superposition and entanglement.—
Matthew S Williams,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026 -
The agency is working with its partners to stop hackers from exploiting any of the vulnerabilities identified in the report, said Nick Andersen, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In other cases, extremists have been convicted of manipulating children into cutting themselves or even killing pets on camera, records show.—
Curt Devine,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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His belief that a conspiratorial coterie of people is manipulating American policy.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Playing (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playing%20%28upon%29. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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