Synonyms of play in English:

play

See US English definition of play

See UK English definition of play

See Spanish definition of juego

verb

1‘the children were playing with toys on the floor’

SYNONYMS

amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun, have a good time, relax, rest, be at leisure, occupy oneself, divert oneself, play games, frolic, frisk, gambol, romp, cavort, caper

informal mess about, mess around

British informal lark, lark about, lark, lark around

dated sport

archaic, humorous disport oneself

2‘I used to play football’

SYNONYMS

take part in, participate in, engage in, be involved in, join in, compete in, do

3‘Liverpool play Sheffield United on Wednesday’

SYNONYMS

compete against, contend against, oppose, take on, challenge, vie with, rival

4‘he was about to play Macbeth’

SYNONYMS

act the part of, play the part of, act, take the role of, enact, represent, perform, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, pretend to be, execute, render, interpret

rare personate

5‘he never learned to play a musical instrument’

SYNONYMS

perform on, make music on

blow, sound, strum

6‘his hair gleamed as the sunlight played on it’

SYNONYMS

move lightly, dance, flit, dart, ripple, lick, touch

noun

1‘one must strike a balance between work and play’

SYNONYMS

amusement, entertainment, relaxation, recreation, enjoyment, pleasure, diversion, distraction, leisure, fun, games, fun and games

playfulness, horseplay, skylarking, larks, a good time, jollification, junketing, merrymaking, revelry

informal living it up

dated sport

ANTONYMS

work

2‘a play by Shakespeare’

SYNONYMS

drama, stage play, stage show, theatrical work, theatrical piece, radio play, television play, teleplay, screenplay, comedy, tragedy, farce, sketch

production, performance, spectacle, show

3‘they have understood the play of the real world’

SYNONYMS

action, activity, operation, movement, motion, agency, employment, working, function, functioning, exercise, interaction, interplay

4‘the steering rack was loose, and there was a little play’

SYNONYMS

movement, freedom of movement, free motion, slack, give

room to manoeuvre, room to operate, scope, latitude, elbow room, space, margin

5‘we enable people to give full play to their energy and abilities’

SYNONYMS

scope, range, latitude, liberty, licence, freedom, indulgence, free rein, release

Phrases

play up

1‘there were some boys that really did play up’

SYNONYMS

misbehave, be misbehaved, behave badly, be bad, be naughty, be mischievous, get up to mischief, be disobedient, be awkward, cause trouble, give trouble, make trouble

British informal be stroppy, be bolshie

2‘the boiler's playing up again’

SYNONYMS

not work properly, be defective, be faulty, malfunction, act up, give trouble

informal be on the blink, go on the blink

3‘his injured leg was playing up’

SYNONYMS

be painful, hurt, ache, be sore, cause pain, cause discomfort, cause trouble, annoy

informal kill someone, give someone gyp

bring into play

‘all of these factors are brought into play in the strategic planning process’

SYNONYMS

use, employ, exercise, make use of, utilize, avail oneself of, put to use

practise, apply, bring to bear, implement, exert, wield

play the fool

SYNONYMS

clown about, clown around, act the clown, act the fool, fool about, fool around, mess about, mess around, monkey about, monkey around, joke, play pranks, indulge in horseplay

informal horse about, horse around, screw around, puddle about, puddle around, act the goat

British informal muck about, muck around, fanny about, fanny around, footle about, footle around, lark about, lark around

British vulgar slang piss about, piss around, arse about, arse around

dated play the giddy goat

play for time

SYNONYMS

use delaying tactics, stall, temporize, gain time, hang back, hang fire, hold back, procrastinate, beat about the bush, drag one's feet, delay, filibuster, stonewall

play something up

‘the press has played up the problems’

SYNONYMS

emphasize, lay emphasis on, put emphasis on, accentuate, bring attention to, call attention to, draw attention to, focus attention on, point up, underline, underscore, highlight, spotlight, foreground, feature, give prominence to, bring to the fore, heighten, stress, accent

play around

‘I played around a bit but now I've settled down’

SYNONYMS

womanize, philander, have affairs affair, have an affair, flirt, dally, toy with someone's affections, trifle with someone's affections

informal carry on, mess about, mess around, play the field, play away, sleep around, swing, be a man-eater

North American informal fool around

vulgar slang screw around

rare coquet

play on

‘it is despicable to play on the fears of ordinary people’

SYNONYMS

exploit, take advantage of, use, make use of, turn to account, turn to one's account, profit by, capitalize on, impose on, trade on, milk, abuse, misuse

informal walk all over

play out

1‘the position of the sub-tropical jet stream across North America will determine how winter plays out’

SYNONYMS

turn out, work out, conclude, end, end up, result, come out, fall out, develop, evolve

2‘this scenario plays out all across the country’

SYNONYMS

happen, occur, take place, come about, come to pass, crop up, turn up, arise, chance, ensue, befall, be realized, take shape, transpire

rare eventuate

play up to

‘he's been playing up to her the whole time’

SYNONYMS

ingratiate oneself with, seek the favour of, try to get on the good side of, curry favour with, court, fawn on, fawn over, make up to, keep someone sweet, toady to, crawl to, grovel to, pander to, be obsequious towards, truckle to, flatter

informal soft-soap, suck up to, butter up, be all over, lick someone's boots, brown-nose

British vulgar slang kiss someone's arse, lick someone's arse

North American vulgar slang kiss someone's ass, lick someone's ass

play a part in

‘historical events have also played a part in directing these efforts’

SYNONYMS

contribute to, be instrumental in, be a factor in, be partly responsible for, have a hand in, be conducive to, make for, lead to, cause, give rise to

help, promote, advance, further, forward, oil the wheels of, open the door for, add to

formal conduce to

ANTONYMS

stand in the way of

play ball

‘if you play ball, I can help you’

SYNONYMS

cooperate, collaborate, play along, play the game, go along with the plan, show willing, be willing, help, lend a hand, assist, be of assistance, contribute, reciprocate, respond

pitch in

play at

‘he will play at being kind and good’

SYNONYMS

pretend to be, give the appearance of, affect the role of, assume the role of, pass oneself off as, masquerade as, profess to be, pose as, impersonate, make out, fake, feign, simulate, affect, go through the motions of

North American informal make like

play something down

‘ministers sought to play down the extent of the damage’

SYNONYMS

make light of, make little of, make nothing of, set little store by, set no store by, gloss over, de-emphasize, underemphasize, downplay, understate, underplay, minimize, shrug off

soft-pedal, tone down, diminish, downgrade, trivialize, detract from, underrate, underestimate, undervalue, think little of, disparage, decry, deprecate, talk down, belittle, slight, scoff at, sneer at

informal pooh-pooh

rare derogate

ANTONYMS

exaggerate

played out

‘the melodrama is a little played out to be entirely satisfying’

SYNONYMS

stale, hackneyed, well worn, clichéd, stock, trite, banal, worn out, time-worn, threadbare, hoary, tired, overused, obsolete, antiquated, finished, old

clapped out, old hat, hacky

play havoc with

‘dust will play havoc with electrical systems’

SYNONYMS

disturb, disrupt, disorder, disorganize, disarrange, interfere with, upset, unsettle, convulse

obstruct, impede, hamper

hold up, delay, retard, slow, slow down

throw into confusion, throw into disorder, throw into disarray, cause confusion in, cause turmoil in, derange, turn upside-down, make a mess of

ruin, wreck, spoil, undo, mar, frustrate, blight, crush, quell, quash, dash, scotch, shatter, devastate, demolish, sabotage

informal mess up, screw up, louse up, foul up, make a hash of, do in, put paid to, put the lid on, put the kibosh on, stymie, queer, nix, banjax, blow a hole in

British informal scupper, dish, throw a spanner in the works of

North American informal throw a monkey wrench in the works of

Australian informal euchre, cruel

play the game

‘I don't trust them—they don't always play the game’

SYNONYMS

play fair, be fair, play by the rules, abide by the rules, follow the rules, conform, be a good sport, toe the line, keep in step

play on words

‘its very title turns out to be a play on words’

SYNONYMS

pun, wordplay, double entendre, double meaning, innuendo, witticism, quip, quibble

rare paronomasia, equivoque, amphibology, pivot, calembour, carriwitchet, clench, clinch, conundrum, nick, pundigrion, whim