Thesaurus results for PLAYED (UPON)

played (upon)

verb

past tense of play (upon)

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

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for played (upon)

Verb

The argument was that tech like cameras and GPS tracking in cars could be exploited by foreign powers.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 July 2026
Starting with the campaign for universal white male suffrage soon after the American Revolution, marginalized and exploited people fought for equal rights.

— Brian DeLay, Mercury News, 4 July 2026

Definition of exploited

Verb

In all the stories across both timelines, Dinner said there’s a common thread about memories and how they can be manipulated, and that exploring it was part of the appeal of the new season — not just for the audience, but for the director.

— Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 3 July 2026
The other company whose shares were manipulated in the scheme, E-Waste, had an even higher market cap at some point, despite being nothing more than a shell company.

— Dan Mangan, CNBC, 3 July 2026

Definition of manipulated

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

played up

played (upon)

played (with)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Played (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/played%20%28upon%29. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of played (upon)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perfunctory

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes