Thesaurus results for PLAY UPON

play (upon)

verb

Definition of play (upon)

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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for play (upon)

Verb

That signal can be aggregated, correlated, and exploited by hostile foreign intelligence services to anticipate our movements, targets, and timing.

— Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
The researchers did not observe every capability being actively exploited, so account compromise should not be assumed without evidence.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of exploit

Verb

Key Takeaways The experiment revealed an unexpected way to manipulate the weak magnetism inside an atomic nucleus.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2026
Some see promise in manipulating the gut microbiome; others are exploring the potential of stimulating the vagus nerve, eliciting a psychedelic experience or repurposing drugs that might quiet inflammation in the brain.

— Lynne Peeples, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of manipulate

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play up

play (upon)

playwear

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

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Synonyms of play (upon)

verb

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