as in to use
to take unfair advantage of
the candidate played on the voters' prejudices
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (on or upon)
Verb
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Very quickly, Nate learns to use his affliction to his advantage via such methods as grabbing a blazing hot frying pan and pummeling his stunned opponent with it during a kitchen fight.—
Frank Scheck,
The Hollywood Reporter,
8 Mar. 2025 -
The toilet used bacteria to convert human waste into water and gases.—
Amitava Kumar,
The New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Large entities exploited this dynamic, leveraging economies of scale and engaging in aggressive mergers.—
Richard Menger MD MPA,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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Much of what does exist will be difficult to exploit, particularly at a time of war.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Her defense attorney, Jose Baez, dropped the bombshell accusation that Casey had been abused by her father, implying that this explained her string of lies and her willingness to protect him.—
Aja Romano,
Vox,
4 Mar. 2025
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For too long, as alleged in the Complaint, the Board has abused its power, violating Florida law and its own governing documents while gaslighting members who invest millions in memberships and annual dues.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Intuit, which offers products like TurboTax, Credit Karma, and QuickBooks, has made big gains in leveraging AI for customer-facing applications.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
4 Mar. 2025
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Hearst last year brought Siggi Hilmarsson, entrepreneur and founder of Siggi’s Yogurt, onto its board of directors, and plans to leverage his expertise in logistics for the e-commerce revamp, which is expected to take 18 months.—
Joelle Diderich,
WWD,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But they had been manipulated by homeowners and businesses, and used to block all kinds of new construction.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
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Editing concerns truly manipulating an image, making changes to particular areas, and adding content like text, shapes, or other images on top of the original.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
2 Mar. 2025
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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 13 Mar. 2025.
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