PLAY (ON OR UPON) Synonyms: 24 Similar Words

play (on or upon)

verb

Definition of play (on or upon)

as in to use

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 play (on or upon)

Verb

When the Wright brothers first flew, the doubt was never about whether the machine worked, but whether flight would ever be something ordinary people used without a second thought.

— Charlotte Kiang, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
In the Tahoe Basin, the Caldor fire restoration plan outlines roughly 3,600 acres where the Forest Service could use ground crews to apply herbicide directly to shrubs — no aerial spraying.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

Definition of use

Verb

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.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 3 July 2026
Firmware updates often fix security holes that attackers love to exploit.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026

Definition of exploit

Verb

For more on how attackers can abuse connected devices, see our report on how the FBI warned that more than 1 million Android devices were hijacked by malware.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
Some dogs fear brooms, vacuum cleaners or other household products, particularly if they’ve been hurt or abused in the past.

— BestReviews, Mercury News, 2 July 2026

Definition of abuse

Verb

Brazil is building, and its stars looking for larger markets, leveraging its film industry’s sudden explosion onto the international film scene.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 7 July 2026
While bad actors are increasingly deploying AI to scale and automate their operations, organizations are also leveraging the technology to improve threat detection and accelerate response times.

— Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 7 July 2026

Definition of leverage

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

play-offs

play (on or upon)

play out

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“Play (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of play (on or upon)

verb

Example Sentences

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