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
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (upon)
Verb
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With key Pistons defenders like Ausar Thompson (ankle), Cade Cunningham (lung), and Isaiah Stewart (calf) sidelined or doubtful, Gilgeous-Alexander has a prime opportunity to exploit the matchup.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026 -
This property is driven by a phenomenon known as plasmonics, where light interacting with a material generates collective oscillations of electrons, producing highly localized electromagnetic fields that can be exploited in technologies such as sensing, catalysis, and energy harvesting.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Be careful not to let someone else manipulate you or use guilt or jealousy as a technique.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
3 Apr. 2026
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During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals.—
Assistant Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Play (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28upon%29. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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