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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Example Sentences

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.

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

Travel costs increase, maintenance windows become harder to coordinate and central IT spends more time managing individual exceptions.

— Susan Odle, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Nationally, the average monthly cut would be $500, which is more than what the average retired household spends on groceries each month.

— Medora Lee, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of spends

Verb

Jongmin Lee, a quantum sensing scientist at SNL, has been working to build an extremely small version of this device, one that consumes very little power and can be used in the field.

— Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026
Throughout our conversation, Angelyne adds ice cubes to the bowl, swirls it with a spoon, and consumes it like gazpacho.

— Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of consumes

Verb

While voters’ choices have been, more often than not, defensible, the unanimity betrays a lack of imagination and drains any hint of drama from the ceremony.

— Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
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

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

Where appropriate, allowing patients to schedule routine appointments also reduces unnecessary back-and-forth with the practice.

— Ajay Prasad, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Rather than mine the archive wholesale, Icons reduces recognizable Borgo signatures to their foundations, preserving the rigor while shifting their expression.

— Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of reduces

Verb

If a single slide is carrying the problem, the solution and the result all at once, the room absorbs none of the three.

— Lynn Smith, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Research published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science (2011 study) showed that hair absorbs measurable quantities of both minerals from water alone.

— Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of absorbs

Verb

Another newer credit score model, FICO 10T, which uses similar alternative data, is expected to be approved for use in mortgages by FHFA in the coming months.

— Sarah Agostino, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
Heat pipes drive compact design The eVinci reactor uses a compact architecture built around heat pipes, TRISO fuel, and a graphite core.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2026