PLAY Synonyms: 375 Similar and Opposite Words

play 1 of 5

verb (1)

as in to recreate

to engage in activity for amusement told her son that he needed some time to run and play in the yard after his hard work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to perform

to present a portrayal or performance of played Hamlet in the campus production of the classic

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to pose (as)

to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior stop playing the innocent, because I know that you were behind that prank

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to lounge

to spend time in aimless activity just played around while we waited for the bus to arrive

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to manipulate

to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently this is how we're going to play the situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to put

to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event figuring that she had little to lose, she played her last few bucks on the state lottery

Synonyms & Similar Words

play

2 of 5

noun

ˈplā

as in relaxation

activity engaged in to amuse oneself it's such a delight to watch the children in their play

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in drama

a written work in which the story is told through speech and action that is intended to be acted out on stage we'll be putting on a school play using that stage

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in game

an attitude or manner not to be taken seriously I didn't mean to insult anyone, for it was all just play

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in use

the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose the host's sense of humor was obviously in play during the awards ceremony

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in ruse

a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end the guy at the bar made an unusually creative play to get her phone number

Synonyms & Similar Words

play (on or upon)

3 of 5

verb (2)

as in to use

to take unfair advantage of the candidate played on the voters' prejudices

Synonyms & Similar Words

play (upon)

4 of 5

verb (3)

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

play (with)

5 of 5

verb (4)

as in to toy (with)

to handle thoughtlessly, ignorantly, or mischievously please don't play with the telephone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples of play in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Inflation: no clear trend The Fed is currently playing risk manager. —

Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 23 Sep. 2024 Bush, who played 11 years in the NFL, maintains that he was never paid to play at USC. —

Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 23 Sep. 2024

Noun

Mukul Garg is the Head of Support Engineering at PubNub, which powers apps for virtual work, play, learning and health. —

Mukul Garg, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024 State of play: Partly in response to city workers meeting with companies associated with the smells, multiple businesses invested in additional odor reduction equipment recently, leading to fewer complaints, city officials said in May. —

Jason Clayworth, Axios, 17 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for play

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.