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
  • Once focused entirely on exploiting Disney properties, Disney+ has been increasingly opening up its slate to outside IP, including making development deals for Ella Enchanted and Casper series over the past couple of months.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Women accused him in lawsuits of exploiting his position at Operation Underground Railroad and their desire to help combat child trafficking to abuse them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of exploiting
Verb
  • By manipulating network traffic, the attackers redirect guests to fake sign-in pages without first sending a phishing email or compromising the PC.
    — Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • What is your reaction to Drew being the one to rat you out about lying and manipulating Angela with your dead mother story?
    — Matt Minton, Variety, 31 July 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 15 Aug. 2026.

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