toy with

Definitions

1. To handle something in a careless or frivolous manner.
2. To play, especially with or as with a toy.

Equivalents

Examples

“You shouldn't toy with someone's feelings.”

“Roy Hodgson's team had toyed with everyone's nerves. They had come⟳ across a Poland side that gave everything on a night when Wembley often sounded more like⟳ Warsaw, and Gerrard's late, decisive strike⟳ came at a stage⟳ of the night when England's management was thinking about little more than protecting Wayne Rooney's first-half goal.”

CEFR level