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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Jim has repeatedly said that as AI becomes better at uncovering software flaws, businesses will need increasingly sophisticated tools to identify, patch, and defend against those vulnerabilities before hackers can exploit them.
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Firmware updates often fix security holes that attackers love to exploit.
Verb
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Prosecutors detailed at least four games in which the defendants are alleged to have schemed to have Beasley manipulate individual game stats for the benefit of gamblers.
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Among the schemes cited by officials was ATM jackpotting, a technically sophisticated form of theft in which criminals manipulate ATMs through malware, network intrusion or physical tampering to trigger unauthorized cash withdrawals.
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“Play (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28upon%29. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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