PLAYS OUT Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

plays out

verb

present tense third-person singular of play out

as in spends

to make complete use of we've finally played out the leftovers from that huge holiday meal

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Recent Examples of plays out But some in the city are waiting to see how a separate court battle in Boston over changes to multiple national parks, including the President’s House, plays out for answers. — Danny Freeman, CNN Money, 28 June 2026 Cook, who has remained in the post while the case plays out, called the allegations a pretext to oust her over monetary policy differences. — Will Dunham, USA Today, 28 June 2026 The heroic death plays out almost as a footnote in an otherwise grim day at sea. — Josh Wigler, HollywoodReporter, 22 June 2026 This comes as a Big 12 lawsuit against the university and others, plays out in court. — S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 16 June 2026 Cynthia wants to get down to the bottom of Shamea’s erratic behavior, and the scene plays out like an angsty teen getting sent to the principal’s office. — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 15 June 2026 Less than two miles away, a similarly bustling scene plays out on California Avenue, often considered Palo Alto’s second downtown. — Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 9 June 2026 The thriller plays out from the perspective of both women. — Lynette Rice, Deadline, 9 June 2026 In humans with advanced metabolic disease, the same collapse plays out in Charcot’s foot, where the bones of the ankle and midfoot fracture and disintegrate under the weight of a body the metabolism can no longer regulate. — Joshua Moen, STAT, 8 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plays out

Verb

Or… 2) Miami is insufficiently impressed and spends its likely very high 2027 first-round draft pick on a QB with the clear intent for the rookie to soon replace Willis.

— Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Unlike some long-distance trails that offer extended stretches of relatively forgiving terrain, the AT spends much of its length going relentlessly up and down the Appalachian Mountains.

— Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of spends

Verb

At risk of power shortages A single large AI data center now consumes as much electricity as a city of 80,000 people, Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla wrote in Fortune this year, and companies are building hundreds of them at once.

— Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026
That figure assumes the vehicle consumes 100 watt-hours per mile and its solar panels deliver at least four kWh of usable energy to the battery during the day.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of consumes

Verb

Beijing is quite happy, for now at least, to watch as the US drains its treasure policing the world’s sea lanes, keeping transnational drug gangs and fraudsters in check, and maintaining global financial stability.

— Andy Browne, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Aerate The Soil Soil that drains poorly and becomes waterlogged will cause grass to suffer, but nutgrass can flourish in these conditions.

— Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of drains

Verb

If a bureaucratic process exhausts whatever time a citizen has available, then benefits are lost or rights are denied.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 July 2026

Definition of exhausts

Verb

Standard usage draws down a prepaid credit balance, while enterprise customers can arrange invoicing.

— Janakiram MSV, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Asked about arms sales to Taiwan, Hegseth downplayed concerns that a multi-billion-dollar package could be ‌affected as the United States draws down its weapons stockpiles amid the Middle ⁠East conflict.

— Reuters, NBC news, 30 May 2026

Definition of draws down

Verb

In terms of hardware, the iPhone Duo comes with Apple’s upgraded A20 Pro chip, the company’s in-house C2 cellular modem, a 48-megapixel camera, and a nanotexture finish on its display that reduces glare and reflections.

— Emma Roth, The Verge, 9 Sep. 2026
Whether the strategy reduces graft is a live debate — Singapore is third-lowest of 182 countries on one index, but Hong Kong, with much lower pay, also scores well.

— Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of reduces

Verb

This design effectively absorbs violent shockwaves that would otherwise shatter conventional armor.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Nitrogen is also a core component of chlorophyll, which absorbs energy from light in photosynthetic organisms, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy-carrying molecule found in the cells of plants and animals.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of absorbs

Verb

Thankfully, the bathroom lines at Venice intermissions are not too long, as 70 percent of the audience uses the opportunity to duck out and have a smoke.

— Nate Jones, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026
It’s powered by a lithium-ion battery and uses two drive motors and a pair of bulldozer-style treads to navigate the floor, walls, and waterline of your pool.

— John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026