Synonyms of plays

plays 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of play

1

as in recreates

to engage in activity for amusement

told her son that he needed some time to run and play in the yard after his hard work

Synonyms & Similar Words

• recreates
• entertains
• toys
• amuses
• rollicks
• sports
• frolics
• jokes
• relaxes
• rests
• dallies
• cavorts
• disports
• delights
• hangs
• pleases
• dabbles
• teases
• romps
• gambols
• skylarks
• frisks
• diverts
• trifles
• loafs
• idles
• dawdles
• hangs about
• goldbricks
• slacks (off)
• jests
• putters (around)
• fiddles (around)
• screws around
• bums (around)
• lounges (around or about)
• messes around

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• works
• struggles
• slaves
• strives
• plugs (away)
• toils
• plods
• labors
• strains
• sweats
• drudges

2

as in performs

to present a portrayal or performance of

played Hamlet in the campus production of the classic

Synonyms & Similar Words

• performs
• portrays
• interprets
• does
• depicts
• represents
• acts
• impersonates
• enacts
• dramatizes
• renders
• acts out
• pantomimes
• imitates
• overplays
• masquerades
• role-plays
• underplays
• mimics
• takes on
• mimes
• poses (as)
• playacts
• overacts
• hams
• stars (in)
• apes
• clowns
• costars
• coacts

3

as in mocks

to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior

stop playing the innocent, because I know that you were behind that prank

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mocks
• imitates
• portrays
• poses (as)
• acts
• impersonates
• masquerades (as)
• personates
• parodies
• copies
• mimics
• performs
• mimes
• monkeys
• apes
• travesties

4

as in idles

to spend time in aimless activity

just played around while we waited for the bus to arrive

Synonyms & Similar Words

• idles
• lounges
• loafs
• fribbles
• hangs about
• tinkers
• fools around
• doodles
• trifles
• putters (around)
• goofs (around)
• potters (around)
• fiddles (around)
• messes around
• dawdles
• monkeys (around)
• hangs (around or out)
• kicks around
• dallies
• lolls
• horses around
• dillydallies
• clowns (around)
• diddles (with)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sets (to)
• settles (down)
• buckles (down)
• knuckles down

5

as in manipulates

to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently

this is how we're going to play the situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• manipulates
• handles
• manages
• addresses
• takes
• treats
• negotiates
• maneuvers
• swings
• contends (with)
• fields
• grapples (with)
• comes to grips with
• pulls
• hacks
• has a grip on
• copes (with)
• engineers
• controls
• carries out
• regulates
• directs
• guides
• steers
• gets off
• carries off
• runs
• finesses
• reacts (to)
• responds (to)
• commands
• brings off
• jockeys
• micromanages

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fumbles
• bungles
• botches
• mishandles
• messes (up)
• muffs
• goofs (up)
• scamps
• louses up
• foozles

6

as in puts

to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event

figuring that she had little to lose, she played her last few bucks on the state lottery

Synonyms & Similar Words

• puts
• bets
• wagers
• offers
• lays
• goes
• stakes
• gambles
• ventures
• bids
• chances
• speculates
• adventures
• hazards
• endangers
• jeopardizes
• imperils

plays

2 of 2

noun

plural of play

1

as in dramas

a written work in which the story is told through speech and action that is intended to be acted out on stage

we'll be putting on a school play using that stage

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dramas
• works
• musicals
• dramatizations
• comedies
• tragedies
• playlets
• opera
• interludes
• tragicomedies
• melodramas
• adaptations
• musical comedies
• comedy dramas
• monodramas
• psychodramas
• dramedies
• docudramas
• magnum opuses

2

as in uses

the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose

the host's sense of humor was obviously in play during the awards ceremony

Synonyms & Similar Words

• uses
• exercises
• applications
• usages
• operations
• employments
• exertions
• reuses

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• disuses
• nonuses

3

as in ruses

a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end

the guy at the bar made an unusually creative play to get her phone number

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruses
• schemes
• devices
• tricks
• juggles
• fetches
• dodges
• jigs
• gambits
• stratagems
• shenanigans
• sleights of hand
• wiles
• artifices
• bluffs
• sleights
• knacks
• ploys
• gimmicks
• flimflams
• end runs
• juggleries
• deceptions
• crafts
• duplicities
• feints
• duperies
• trickeries
• cunnings
• subterfuges
• hoaxes
• chicaneries
• swindles
• cozenages
• fakeries
• skulduggeries
• frauds
• smoke screens
• fronts
• legerdemains
• crookeries
• gaffs
• blinds
• shams

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of plays

Verb

As Cuenca plays a ball to the feet of his striker, Wilson dashes in the other direction, delaying Ibrahima Konate’s forward jump because the centre-back knows Bradley is unable to track both him and Robinson at the same time. —Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026

In the dark romantic comedy-drama, True Blood alum Skarsgård, 49, plays tough biker Ray, who enters into a dominant-submissive relationship with Colin (Melling), a shy and directionless man who sings in a barbershop quartet. —Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026

Choose a playful starting point like stretching while music plays — something easy to do every day. —Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Jan. 2026

While law enforcement plays a central role in reducing crime, the article overlooks the crucial role of community violence intervention (CVI) organizations. —Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026

Lighting plays a subtle but powerful role. —Amplified Content Studio, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026

Even Sadie Sink, who plays Max, offered her own theory to Vulture on where Max's mom was throughout the season. —Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026

Protein also plays a role in blood sugar management. —Brianna Tobritzhofer, Health, 7 Jan. 2026

The military plays only an advisory role in the American system, giving input to the president’s deliberations but not otherwise independently adjudicating whether his or her decision is wise. —Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2025

Noun

The main areas of concern are the shaky poise against pressure and his limited mobility to create second-reaction plays. —Antonio Morales, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026

The Bears’ vaunted defense almost closed things out, stopping the Eagles on three consecutive plays from the 2-yard line in the game’s final 2 minutes. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026

Microdramas, which first emerged in Asia, reached Hollywood towards the backend of last year, with Fox, Access Entertainment and a new outfit backed by Cineverse and Lloyd Braun’s Banyan all making plays. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026

And unlike Sophocles’s plays, in which the deities are persistently invoked, Cicellis’s universe is spiritually arid. —Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026

The offense also didn’t have nearly as many explosive plays as the Saints. —Charlotte Observer, 10 Nov. 2025