as in exploited
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 played (upon)
Verb
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The ring allegedly exploited a large-scale humanitarian effort used to ship aid and commercial goods into the shattered enclave.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026 -
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet venture is increasingly being seen as critical infrastructure that can be targeted or exploited in geopolitical conflicts.—
J.D. Capelouto,
semafor.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Last year, many were convinced American politics would be destabilized by videos manipulated by artificial intelligence, or lulled into a post-truth stupor by AI slop.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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What’s interesting is the NBA has moved away from some events that either have become stale or manipulated, such as the skills competition giving way at next week’s All-Star Weekend.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Played (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/played%20%28upon%29. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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