as in used
to take unfair advantage of
the candidate played on the voters' prejudices
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for played (on or upon)
Verb
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Testing in a model plant The team added the McG cycle genes to Arabidopsis thaliana, a small weed often used in plant research.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025 -
The dating technique used on the eggs, known more formally as carbonate uranium-lead, or U-Pb, dating, is a common process for determining the age of carbonate minerals — those containing calcium, iron, manganese and magnesium.—
Mindy Weisberger,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Vulnerabilities in those systems have been exploited in high-profile attacks across DeFi.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Jeffrey Breinholt, an architect of the material support statutes who spent three decades as a federal terrorism prosecutor, defends the laws as crucial to closing loopholes that were exploited by foreign militant groups and their domestic sympathizers.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In a bipartisan vote, 49 Republicans joined Democrats to repeal the authorizations, which members say have been abused to justify later military actions.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Sep. 2025
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The biggest Flock controversy centers on allegations that law enforcement has abused the company’s surveillance network to target women, immigrants, and people engaging in legal activity outside their home states.—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To find an exoplanet, the most successful methods have leveraged examining the light from a star that might house them.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
10 Sep. 2025
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The company's technology is leveraged at several NBA training facilities.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
9 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 (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/played%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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