as in highlighting
to indicate the importance of by centering attention on
that TV news program plays up sensational stories just to get higher ratings
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of playing up
On his Instagram page, Simonds appears to relish in playing up an overly-confident wrestler.
—
Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026
Repossi finessed the rose gold used in its latest spiraling Blast high jewelry pieces, playing up its yellow gleam under a gradient of orange gemstones.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 20 Feb. 2026
Lately, Laine noted, the WWE’s star villain Becky Lynch has been using some familiar-sounding language while playing up her status as a sore loser.
—Michael Ballaban, CNN Money, 14 Feb. 2026
The cuddly canines and spirited mutts making up Team Fluff and Team Ruff will battle for the coveted Lombarky Trophy, while also playing up for the cameras in hopes of finding their forever home.
—Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 8 Feb. 2026
Eighteen months apart, the two sisters played on the same soccer team growing up, Logan playing up one year and Sammy playing up two.
—Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Next-generation geothermal developers are staying the course but playing up the industry’s crossovers with oil and gas.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Jan. 2026
En route to his Week 10 assignment in Tampa in 2001, Fox’s lead NFL analyst may have been preaching to the choir—the reporter who took down those words was with the Chicago Tribune—but the big fella seated at the front of the Madden Cruiser wasn’t just playing up the hype man role.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Even as wedding registries shift and honeymoon funds replace fine china, antique case pieces and modern iterations of china cabinets are on the rise again—dovetailing with modern maximalism’s emphasis on playing up your home’s personality and the design world’s recent sweet spot for nostalgia.
—Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 16 Jan. 2026
Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026
Repossi finessed the rose gold used in its latest spiraling Blast high jewelry pieces, playing up its yellow gleam under a gradient of orange gemstones.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 20 Feb. 2026
Lately, Laine noted, the WWE’s star villain Becky Lynch has been using some familiar-sounding language while playing up her status as a sore loser.
—Michael Ballaban, CNN Money, 14 Feb. 2026
The cuddly canines and spirited mutts making up Team Fluff and Team Ruff will battle for the coveted Lombarky Trophy, while also playing up for the cameras in hopes of finding their forever home.
—Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 8 Feb. 2026
Eighteen months apart, the two sisters played on the same soccer team growing up, Logan playing up one year and Sammy playing up two.
—Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Next-generation geothermal developers are staying the course but playing up the industry’s crossovers with oil and gas.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Jan. 2026
En route to his Week 10 assignment in Tampa in 2001, Fox’s lead NFL analyst may have been preaching to the choir—the reporter who took down those words was with the Chicago Tribune—but the big fella seated at the front of the Madden Cruiser wasn’t just playing up the hype man role.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Even as wedding registries shift and honeymoon funds replace fine china, antique case pieces and modern iterations of china cabinets are on the rise again—dovetailing with modern maximalism’s emphasis on playing up your home’s personality and the design world’s recent sweet spot for nostalgia.
—Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for playing up
Verb
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Even so, The Pitt‘s 2025 Emmy win for Outstanding Drama Series was a shot in the arm for the hospital genre, highlighting how audiences could respond to gritty storytelling focused on characters working in brutal, relentless circumstances.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
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Yet, these authors and their peers such as Naomi Schaefer Riley continually shrink this extraordinarily complex problem to outcomes only — framing broken families in deeply dark narratives of horror, highlighting failures and demanding accountability.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Heat president Pat Riley made that clear during his annual season-ending news conference on Monday at Kaseya Center, emphasizing his disdain toward tanking for a top draft pick.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
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Fifteen other states, including Iowa and Missouri, filed a brief emphasizing the importance of preserving access to affordable glyphosate.—
Christiana Freitag,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The same instinct shows up in the lifestyle creator influencer accent, characterized by uptalk and the lengthening and extra stressing on words.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
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The authors take aim at TRIPS and TRIPS-Plus agreements by stressing the dangers of a colonialism of information that ignores individual countries’ political and economic circumstances.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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On Tuesday, April 28, the singer and rapper shared a post on Instagram featuring multiple snaps from her 38th birthday celebrations, as well as teasing the release date for her upcoming album, Bitch.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
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Through a presentation of music by female composers, pianist Kerbel will explore the musical landscape of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, featuring works by American composers Amy Beach and Florence Price, as well as international compositions by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Lili Boulanger.—
Philip Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Playing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/playing%20up. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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