Thesaurus results for PLAY (UPON)

play (upon)

verb

Definition of play (upon)

as in to exploit

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 play (upon)

Verb

Feigenbaum offered a more cautious interpretation, describing some of the violent perpetrators as fringe provocateurs who exploit broader demonstrations without necessarily directing them.

— Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
The company has documented instances in which experimental agents took unauthorized actions during testing, including exploiting vulnerabilities and accessing external systems.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of exploit

Verb

This concept turned into an exhibit element where visitors could manipulate the parameters themselves and create different fields of grass.

— Megan Fitzgerald, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Our minds take in information from the world (input), manipulate it in some fashion (computation), and then enact behavior (output).

— Benjamin Riley, The Verge, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of manipulate

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.

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play up

play (upon)

playwear

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Style

“Play (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28upon%29. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of play (upon)

verb

Example Sentences

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