English verb: play up | |||
1. | play up (change) move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent | ||
Samples | The introduction highlighted the speaker's distinguished career in linguistics. | ||
Synonyms | foreground, highlight, spotlight | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Something ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | bring out, set off | ||
Antonyms | background, play down, downplay | ||
2. | play up (emotion) ingratiate oneself to; often with insincere behavior | ||
Samples | She is playing up to the chairman. | ||
Synonyms | cotton up, cozy up, shine up, sidle up, suck up | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s PP | ||
Broader (hypernym) | ingratiate | ||