play up

• Phrasal verb, das betont oder hervorhebt; im britischen Englisch auch: Probleme machen, sich schlecht benehmen oder nicht richtig funktionieren.

A phrasal verb used to indicate emphasizing something, or (in British English) causing trouble or not functioning properly.

unzählbar · transitiv und intransitiv · Phrasal, trennbar

1. Exaggerate or emphasizeinformalbritish

   To make something seem more important or serious than it really is.

   Übertreiben oder betonen

   • He played up his role in the project to impress the boss.
   • The media played up the minor incident as a major crisis.
   • She always plays up her achievements when talking to strangers.

   Synonymeaccentuateamplifyemphasizeexaggeratehighlightmagnifyoverdooveremphasizeoverstatestress

   Antonymedownplayminimizeunderstate

2. Cause trouble or malfunctioninformalbritish

   To behave badly or cause problems, often used for machines or children.

   Probleme machen oder nicht funktionieren

   • The car's engine started playing up again this morning.
   • The children were playing up during the entire trip.
   • My computer is playing up and keeps crashing.

   Synonymeact upbreak downfailfaltergo wrongmalfunctionmisbehave

   Antonymebehavework

Grundverbplay