play up

phrasal-verb
UK: /ˌpleɪ ˈʌp/
US: /ˌpleɪ ˈʌp/

  1. To emphasize something to make it seem more important.

    1. The news report played up the dangers of the storm that will play up tonight.
    2. The company played up its environmental efforts to attract eco-conscious customers play up more eco in this case.

  2. To behave badly or cause trouble.

    1. The children always play up when their father is away play up for him.
    2. My car is playing up again; I think I need to get it serviced or change something.

  3. To feign or exaggerate an illness or injury.

    1. He's just playing up his injury to avoid doing chores, such a silly play up.
    2. She played up her headache so she wouldn't have to go to the party and miss movie.

Synonyms

highlight misbehave exaggerate feign emphasize

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "play up" in English means: To emphasize something to make it seem more important., To behave badly or cause trouble., To feign or exaggerate an illness or injury..

The phonetic transcription of "play up" is /ˌpleɪ ˈʌp/ in British English and /ˌpleɪ ˈʌp/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "play up": highlight, misbehave, exaggerate, feign, emphasize.

Example usage of "play up": "The news report played up the dangers of the storm that will play up tonight.". More examples on the page.