play God
idiom
usually disapproving
: to make decisions that have a very powerful and important effect on other people's lives
lawyers who play God with people's lives
Examples of play God in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The document asserted that attempts to alter an individual's immutable gender are ultimately misguided attempts to play God.
—
Gabriele Regalbuto, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Life Pablo Escobar’s hippos: Why drug lords shouldn’t play God
Let the countdown begin!
—Big Think, 24 June 2024
And my year was the only year that stood alone, where the audience got to play God, not the players inside the house.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 20 June 2022
For all the science contained in science-fiction, there’s always been a germ of theology embedded within it, a genre-specific commandment: Man shall not play God.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 2 Sep. 2020
Built from memory in the sublime — after both human and host-led society has crumbled — Westworld’s first fully functional host is now ready to play God.
—Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Aug. 2022
Bunbury Theatre presents the show about the evolution of the play God of Vengeance (Got fun nekome) by writer Sholem Aschg.
—The Courier-Journal, 10 Aug. 2022
Who’s decided to play God with their lives, and why?
—Tom Nolan, WSJ, 25 Mar. 2022
There’s no question that Silva is right: People are reshaping the kelp forests through the steady uptick of carbon emissions, whether or not coastal communities choose to actively play God among the underwater invertebrates.
—Sierra Garcia, Wired, 18 Sep. 2021
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Gabriele Regalbuto, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Life Pablo Escobar’s hippos: Why drug lords shouldn’t play God
Let the countdown begin!
—Big Think, 24 June 2024
And my year was the only year that stood alone, where the audience got to play God, not the players inside the house.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 20 June 2022
For all the science contained in science-fiction, there’s always been a germ of theology embedded within it, a genre-specific commandment: Man shall not play God.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 2 Sep. 2020
Built from memory in the sublime — after both human and host-led society has crumbled — Westworld’s first fully functional host is now ready to play God.
—Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Aug. 2022
Bunbury Theatre presents the show about the evolution of the play God of Vengeance (Got fun nekome) by writer Sholem Aschg.
—The Courier-Journal, 10 Aug. 2022
Who’s decided to play God with their lives, and why?
—Tom Nolan, WSJ, 25 Mar. 2022
There’s no question that Silva is right: People are reshaping the kelp forests through the steady uptick of carbon emissions, whether or not coastal communities choose to actively play God among the underwater invertebrates.
—Sierra Garcia, Wired, 18 Sep. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Play God.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20God. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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