Synonyms of playing up

playing up

verb

present participle of play up

as in highlighting

to indicate the importance of by centering attention on

that TV news program plays up sensational stories just to get higher ratings

Synonyms & Similar Words

• highlighting
• emphasizing
• stressing
• featuring
• pointing (up)
• bearing down on
• making much of
• identifying
• punctuating
• illuminating
• focusing
• accentuating
• accenting
• pressing
• foregrounding
• promoting
• advertising
• pinpointing
• publicizing
• spotlighting
• plugging
• boosting
• overplaying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• playing down
• toning (down)
• minimizing
• understating
• de-emphasizing
• discounting
• disparaging
• belittling
• underemphasizing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of playing up

Boobie had also been playing up one — or two even — age levels. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026

Khusnutdinov, on whom the B’s are high, morphed into Sturm’s Swiss Army knife last season, playing up and down and all over the lineup. — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 21 Aug. 2026

Forty-three football-playing schools are playing up in class this season. — Todd Holcomb, AJC.com, 12 Aug. 2026

The fourth member of the household is Terry’s lurking aide, an androgynous aesthete named Steven (theater producer Jordan Roth, playing up the character’s feline strangeness). — Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2026

These athletes created signature shoes, playing up their personal stories in the marketing. — Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Collins and Buddy Carter are playing up their conservative records on Capitol Hill, while former college football coach Derek Dooley pitches himself as a political outsider. — ABC News, 19 May 2026

The six swings-and-misses on his fastball represented a season high and indicated that the rest of his mix was playing up and keeping opposing hitters off balance. — Katie Woo, New York Times, 18 May 2026

Rose said Ye bought into her flattery and liked the idea of drinking booze and playing up his bigshot status. — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 6 May 2026