play (on or upon)

verb

Definition of play (on or upon)next
as in to use
to take unfair advantage of the candidate played on the voters' prejudices

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (on or upon)
  1. use
  2. exploit
  3. abuse
  4. leverage
  5. manipulate
Verb
  • This is not the first time that Bad Bunny has used his platform to elevate political messaging.
    Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2025
  • The Los Angeles Dodgers roster is nearing completion for the 2025 season, but center field could use an upgrade.
    Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of use
Verb
  • Security Experts Speak Out About The Latest PayPal Attacks A number of security professionals have now spoken out about the latest attack methodology being exploited by these PayPal threat actors.
    Davey Winder, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
  • The reason: The Chargers are strong in the areas the Chiefs typically like to exploit.
    Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2025
Definition of exploit
Verb
  • Investigators alleged evidence shows that the father, Steven Collins, had abused the boy and that the mother failed to intervene or report the abuse, according to court documents.
    Christina Shaw, Fox News, 1 Jan. 2025
  • Following their arrests, it was revealed that Dee Dee had abused Blanchard for years via Munchausen syndrome by proxy, by lying about her daughter having a host of serious medical conditions that led to real medical procedures, despite Blanchard actually being physically healthy.
    Shania Russell, EW.com, 1 Jan. 2025
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • Organizing this data is critical to fully leveraging AI’s potential.
    Emil Sayegh, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
  • The technology leverages people’s inability to perceive infrared light.
    Ivan Amato, Scientific American, 2 Jan. 2025
Definition of leverage
Verb
  • Composed by manipulating the temperature applied to the element, the resulting shimmering colors and emerging shapes echo the encounters between inner experience and scientific phenomena at the heart of her work.
    Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
  • These campaigns sought to amplify societal divisions and manipulate voter sentiment in the lead-up to November's election.
    Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near play (on or upon)

play-offs

play (on or upon)

play out

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Play (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

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