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Antonyms for play up

Grammar : Verb
Spell : pley
Phonetic Transcription : pleɪ

Definition of play up

Origin :
  • Old English plegan, plegian "move rapidly, occupy or busy oneself, exercise; frolic; make sport of, mock; perform music," from West Germanic *plegan "occupy oneself about" (cf. Old Saxon plegan "vouch for, take charge of," Old Frisian plega "tend to," Middle Dutch pleyen "to rejoice, be glad," German pflegen "take care of, cultivate"), from PIE root *dlegh- "to engage oneself," forming words in Celtic, Germanic, Slavic, and possibly Latin.
  • Meaning "to take part in a game" is from c.1200. Opposed to work (v.) since late 14c. Related: Played; playing. To play up "emphasize" is from 1909; to play down "minimize" is from 1930; to play along "cooperate" is from 1929. To play with oneself "masturbate" is from 1896; play for keeps is from 1861, originally of marbles or other children's games with tokens. To play second fiddle in the figurative sense is from 1809 ("Gil Blas"). To play into the hands (of someone) is from 1705. To play the _______ card is attested from 1886; to play fair is from mid-15c. To play (something) safe is from 1911; to play favorites is attested from 1902. For play the field see field (n.).
  • verb emphasize
Example sentences :
  • I was trying all the time to play up to him—and to Mrs. Maxwell.
  • Extract from : « The Story of a Play » by W. D. Howells
  • And they play up to our bit of falsity till there is hell to pay.
  • Extract from : « Fantasia of the Unconscious » by D. H. Lawrence
  • In vain he attempted to play up in a friendly fashion to the Bolsheviki.
  • Extract from : « Panther Eye » by Roy J. Snell
  • He has overtaxed his strength for years, and his nerves are bound to play up.
  • Extract from : « The Lady of the Basement Flat » by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
  • And play up local pride—a Hoosier product for Hoosier people.
  • Extract from : « Otherwise Phyllis » by Meredith Nicholson
  • Those small parts cannot take the play up, but they can let it down.
  • Extract from : « The Letters of Charles Dickens » by Charles Dickens
  • He felt that he must play up at once to the character assigned him.
  • Extract from : « The House with the Green Shutters » by George Douglas Brown
  • Miss Campbell tried to play up to her, as the actors call it.
  • Extract from : « Margaret Capel, v. 3 of 3 » by Ellen Wallace
  • But Dorothy found it difficult to play up to his amusing sallies.
  • Extract from : « Dorothy Dixon and the Double Cousin » by Dorothy Wayne
  • You must believe that to play up, and play the game, is the noblest thing in life.
  • Extract from : « John Brown » by Captain R. W. Campbell

Synonyms for play up

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019