play at
Do without commitment
To play at something is to engage in it without full commitment or seriousness—pretending rather than truly doing: He's just playing at being a writer.
The phrase often carries dismissiveness, suggesting someone lacks the dedication to be the real thing: Stop playing at romance and actually commit.
Children play at adult roles; adults who play at things are accused of dilettantism.
Imaginative play or fantasy
- dress-upPlay involving costumes
- playactingInsincere dramatic performance
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
acting · charades · masquerade · pretense · dabble · toy with · tinker · trifle with
make-believe
Imaginative play or fantasy
- dress-upPlay involving costumes
- playactingInsincere dramatic performance
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
imagination · acting · charades · masquerade · pretense · dabble · toy with · tinker · trifle with · experiment
play attake seriously
Treat as significant
throw oneself into · work at · master · professionalize · make a career of
play atembody
Express through physical form
become · own · internalize