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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American officials have warned that TikTok's algorithm could be exploited by Beijing for data mining or political influence.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025 -
Regardless, these comments are blatantly insensitive as political violence should never be tolerated or exploited as comedic entertainment, no matter who perpetrated it.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The sound of the tuning forks was then digitally manipulated to fit the pitch of the music and timed to match any moves the characters make.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Russia's Influence Operations in 2016, Russia conducted extensive campaigns during the presidential election, employing fake personas, troll farms, and manipulated content to inflame racial, ideological, and cultural divisions.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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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 21 Sep. 2025.
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