plays (upon)

verb

present tense third-person singular of play (upon)
as in exploits
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 plays (upon)
  1. exploits
  2. manipulates
Verb
  • Following the assassination of a German diplomat in Paris, Nazi propaganda exploits the incident to unleash a wave of violence against the Jewish population.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2026
  • This exploits a loophole in the government's fiscal rules, as money given to these institutions does not count as extra borrowing.
    — Ian King, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of exploits
Verb
  • Researchers are still working out exactly how the parasite causes this change, but studies have found changes in proteins in the host’s brain as the parasite manipulates it.
    — Tara Deans, The Conversation, 30 Oct. 2026
  • In Kazan’s remake, Cathy craves power and freedom and manipulates the men in her life to achieve those goals.
    — Katie Gunderman, Allure, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of manipulates
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

plays up
plays (upon)
plays (with)
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Cite this Entry

“Plays (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plays%20%28upon%29. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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