Performing an Action (Upon): English Vocabulary List

to have confidence that someone will fulfill one's wishes or requests

"You can count upon me."

"You can count upon her to always be punctual and prepared for every important meeting."

to depend on something for a particular outcome

"The decision hangs upon one vote."

"The outcome of the trial hangs upon the testimony of a single witness so the lawyers are very focused on her credibility."

to make a brief reference to a particular topic in the course of discussing something broader

"He touched upon many topics."

"The professor touched upon several important topics during the lecture but did not have time to explore any of them in depth."

to make a choice or reach a conclusion after careful consideration

"Decide upon a color scheme."

"The committee has not yet decided upon a date for the next meeting because several members have scheduling conflicts."

to take advantage of someone's feelings, fears, or weaknesses

"He plays upon fear."

"The manipulative salesperson attempted to play upon the customer's insecurities to make a sale."

to dedicate time and effort to produce or fix something

"Work upon his sense of duty."

"The sculptor worked upon the block of marble for months slowly revealing the beautiful figure hidden inside the stone."

to encounter someone or something unexpectedly

"Come upon it by chance."

"I came upon an old friend while walking through the park yesterday."

to encounter suddenly or unexpectedly

"We did fall upon old friends."

"While hiking in the mountains, we happened to fall upon a beautiful hidden waterfall that nobody knew about."

to suddenly have a great idea

"She hit upon a great idea."

"After hours of brainstorming the team finally hit upon a creative solution to the problem that had seemed impossible to solve."