Play up
Play up verb - To indicate the importance of by centering attention on.
Stretch
Stretch verb - To add to the interest of by including made-up details.
Usage example: it was stretching the truth to say she'd been in the movies: she was once an extra whose scene was cut in the final version
Play up and stretch are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Play up" instead a verb "Stretch".
Cite this Source
Stretch and Play up. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/play_up/stretch
Play up & Stretch. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/play_up/stretch>.
Stretch or Play up. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/play_up/stretch.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "play up" and "stretch" have occurred on timeline