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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (upon)

Verb

Motor vehicle theft, which had spiked in 2022 and 2023 following a social media challenge that helped people exploit a manufacturing issue in some models of Kia and Hyundai vehicles, dropped by almost 23% to the lowest levels in more than 20 years.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
As noted by the NCSC, the vulnerability is being exploited when port 5900 is exposed to the Internet.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of exploit

Verb

Hilariously, the players figure out that they were manipulated on the unanimous Sam vote, and collectively decide that was the top-level metagame.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
The department has been further beleaguered by concerns that leaders manipulated crime statistics to boost its image.

— Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 10 Aug. 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.

Browse Nearby Words

play up

play (upon)

playwear

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

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Synonyms of play (upon)

verb

Example Sentences

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