prey on

use someone's fears or weaknesses to take advantage of them

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What does "prey on sb" mean?

To prey on someone means to deliberately target and exploit their emotional or psychological weaknesses for personal gain. The person or group doing this — often a scammer, manipulator, or unethical organisation — identifies what makes someone vulnerable and uses it against them. Unlike milder forms of persuasion, preying on someone carries a strong sense of moral wrongdoing: it implies calculated, predatory behaviour that causes real harm. The word comes from the idea of a predator hunting prey in the animal world, and that sinister quality carries over into the figurative sense. This phrasal verb appears most often in journalism, legal language, and serious reporting, rather than in everyday conversation.

Examples

How to use it

prey on + person / group

The most common use — the object is a person or category of people defined by their vulnerability.

Fraudulent investment schemes routinely prey on people who are desperate to escape financial hardship.

prey on + abstract vulnerability

The object can be an abstract noun such as a feeling, fear, or emotional state rather than a person.

The organisation was accused of preying on grief, recruiting members at bereavement support groups.

be preyed on by + agent

The passive is natural and common, especially when the focus is on the victim rather than the perpetrator.

Isolated individuals who lack strong social networks are frequently preyed on by online fraudsters.

prey on + pronoun

Pronouns must always follow 'on' — they cannot be placed between 'prey' and 'on'.

The consultant identified which employees were most anxious and then preyed on them systematically.

have preyed on / been preying on + object

Perfect and continuous forms are natural when emphasising the ongoing or sustained nature of the exploitation.

Investigators discovered that the company had been preying on low-income families for years.

Common Collocations

prey on the vulnerableprey on fearsprey on insecuritiesprey on the elderlyprey on lonelinessprey on weakness

Common Mistakes

Confusing 'prey' with 'pray'

'Prey on' (exploit) is spelled with an 'e' — it comes from the noun 'prey', meaning a hunted animal. 'Pray' means to speak to a deity and has no connection to this phrasal verb. This is a spelling error that also changes the meaning entirely.

✗ Scammers pray on elderly people who live alone.
✓ Scammers prey on elderly people who live alone.
Confusing 'prey on' with 'play on'

'Play on' someone's fears or emotions suggests using feelings strategically to influence someone, and is relatively neutral in tone. 'Prey on' is much stronger — it implies deliberate, sustained exploitation that is morally reprehensible. They are not freely interchangeable.

✗ The manipulative leader played on the insecurities of his followers for years. (acceptable, but weaker — if the intent is to convey predatory harm, 'prey on' is more appropriate)
✓ The manipulative leader preyed on the insecurities of his followers for years.
Attempting to use 'prey on' without an object

'Prey on' always requires an object after 'on'. Unlike some phrasal verbs, it has no intransitive form — you must always say what or who is being preyed on.

✗ These kinds of scammers are dangerous because they prey on.
✓ These kinds of scammers are dangerous because they prey on the vulnerable.

Usage

This phrasal verb is formal and carries strong moral condemnation — it is most common in journalism, legal contexts, and serious writing. It is rarely used in casual conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does 'prey on' always refer to something criminal or illegal?

Not necessarily, but it always implies serious moral condemnation. The subject's behaviour is presented as predatory and harmful — whether or not it is technically illegal. For example, an advertiser preying on parental anxieties may not be breaking any law, but the phrasing signals that their conduct is ethically wrong.

Can 'prey on' be used to describe an institution or company, not just a person?

Yes — the subject can be any human agent, including organisations, companies, cults, or institutions. What matters is that there is deliberate, purposeful targeting of vulnerability. Sentences like 'The lending company preyed on financially desperate households' are perfectly natural.

Is 'prey on' mostly a written expression, or can I use it in speech too?

It is most at home in formal written contexts — journalism, legal documents, reports, and documentary narration. In speech, it typically appears in formal settings such as news commentary, interviews, or courtroom language. It would sound unusually serious and heavy if used in everyday casual conversation.

Does 'prey on' have a literal meaning as well as this figurative one?

Yes — in its literal sense, 'prey on' describes an animal hunting and killing another for food (e.g. 'owls prey on small rodents'). Context makes it clear which sense is intended: when the subject is a human and the object refers to emotions, vulnerabilities, or people, the figurative sense is always in play.

Can I use 'prey on' in the future tense?

Simple future forms like 'will prey on' are grammatically possible and occasionally used. However, forms like 'will be preying on' (future continuous) or 'will have preyed on' (future perfect) sound unnatural and forced — it is best to avoid them. Present and past tenses, including continuous and perfect aspects, are far more common.

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