to play up

Examples

• All

• Her husband had left her for another woman, someone who laughed at his jokes and played up to his ego, who was prepared to go with him wherever he chose.

  Fiction book (2002)

• At the party, he decided to play up to her interests to win her over.

• So you kind of have to create the vision of who you want to be and play up to who that person is.

• I think we ought to play up to his ego more.

  Knight Moves (1992)

• Yeah, sometimes I play up my disability to get fast passes at theme parks.

• I'll treat him like he's a genius, I'll play up the connection to Elon.

  The Disruptors (2024)

• He'd have to play up to the duo if he wanted them to aid him in his planned overthrow of Ripper.

  Blog text (30)

• She always tries to play up to the boss's preferences to get a raise.

• To gain her trust, he began to play up to her by complimenting her ideas.

Synonyms

F

to flatter

vsto play up

100 3.6

Praise someone with words you do not mean to get their help

also uses praise to gain favor but can include other tactics

C

to court

vsto play up

54 5.5

To try to get someone's support by giving attention or praise

means trying to gain favor as well but can be less personal

S

to suck up

vsto play up

• Informal

26 8.0

To praise someone to get their approval

does the same but may be less servile or harshly blunt

F

to fawn

vsto play up

25 7.7

Act very friendly and praise someone to gain their favor

shares the ingratiating aim but can be more casual or milder

K

to kiss up

vsto play up

• Informal

16 7.9

Say nice things to someone to get their help or a reward

aims for favor too but can be less overtly self-serving

B

to butter up

vsto play up

• Informal

13 4.2

Say nice things to someone to get what you want

tries to gain favor too but can be less heavy or blunt

C

to curry favor

vsto play up

• US

10 7.4

To try to get someone to like you by praising them or being too helpful

aims for favor too but can rely more on words than acts

K

to kiss ass

vsto play up

• Offensive

8 9.5

To try to please someone in power to get an advantage

conveys the same aiming for favor but in less crude tone

C

to cozy up

vsto play up

• Informal

6 7.0

To try to make someone like you for your own advantage, often in a fake way

also seeks favor but may focus more on praising than closeness

B

to brown-nose

vsto play up

• Offensive

4 8.2

To flatter someone in power without meaning it to get their favor

is similar but can be used more widely and less extreme

T

to toady

vsto play up

1 9.1

Flatter and obey someone in power to get their favor

means trying to gain favor too but not always so servile

H

to honey

vsto play up

• Informal

1 8.1

To speak very kindly to someone to get something from them

expresses the same intent but can include broader behavior

C

to court favor

vsto play up

1 6.8

To try to get someone's approval by praising them a lot

is similar but often used in slightly more formal contexts

S

to shine up

vsto play up

• Informal

1 8.0

Try to make someone like you by giving fake praise or acting friendly

is the general act of seeking favor, not always by praise

A

to apple-polish

vsto play up

• Informal

9.0

To give praise that is not real to get a favor

is about gaining favor as well but may be less formal

H

to honey up to

vsto play up

• Informal

8.8

To please someone with too many compliments to get a favor

has the same goal but may not always use excess friendliness

C

to cotton up

vsto play up

• UK

9.8

To act friendly to someone to get what you want

shares that goal but can be used more neutrally in speech

How Obsequious

to grovel

42 7.4

to fawn

25 7.7

to butter up

• Informal

13 4.2

to play up

• Informal

1 5.5

to flatter

100 3.6

to compliment

95 1.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology