TRUMPED UP Synonyms: 97 Similar and Opposite Words

trumped-up 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of trumped-up

as in invented

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trumped up

2 of 2

verb

past tense of trump up

as in devised

to create or think of by clever use of the imagination parents who were always trumping up little projects for their children to do around the house

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of trumped-up

Adjective

The charge was clearly trumped-up, but Yundi was immediately taken off all Chinese stages and media and prevented from going abroad. — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023

Verb

But İmamoğlu has been detained, since 2025, on a string of charges of corruption and bribery which are widely believed to be trumped up and designed to bar him from ever competing against Erdoğan nationally. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026 Tran’s lawyer has called the charges trumped up and said Tran will be vindicated in the end. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026 But in a statement issued by his attorney, Maluchnik denies all of that, saying the charges have been trumped up. — Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026 Because of the differences they are labeled as evil, incompetent, corrupt or some other trumped up charge such as antisemitic. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2026 Bass insisted the charges were trumped up. — Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 1 Feb. 2026 He was forced to flee the country in the months following the election, due to trumped up conspiracy and terrorism charges presented by the government that would have led to decades in prison. — Flora Charner, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026 The crimes with which she has been charged are trumped up and her arrest is a cynical ploy by the junta headed by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to cling onto power. — Kim Aris, Time, 7 Nov. 2025 She was elected to the country's National Assembly in 2010, only to be expelled four years later on allegations her supporters said were trumped up. — Alexander Smith, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for trumped-up

Adjective

Do not introduce an unproven customer-facing AI workflow during peak season.

— Michael Fox, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
For the rest of the industry, that could put the onus on an array of nascent technologies, from unproven launch vehicles to a troubled astronaut spacecraft under development by Boeing that previously malfunctioned with two NASA astronauts aboard.

— Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of unproven

Verb

The results suggested that the idea of using messenger RNA to train the immune system to attack cancer cells — an approach first devised decades ago — was ripe for further drug development.

— Allison DeAngelis, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
Teams devised an unprecedented bit of spaceship surgery to replace the valve without draining the propellant and disassembling the spacecraft, steps that would have triggered a much longer delay.

— Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of devised

Adjective

Prosecutors allege the crew printed fraudulent UPS labels to reroute boxes nationwide.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
Rush’s fraudulent conduct cost the federal government approximately $194 million in total losses, according to the Justice Department.

— Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of fraudulent

Verb

Martha’s concocted plenty over the years, including her cider-bourbon cocktail made with apple cider, bourbon, lemon juice, ginger, and apple garnishes.

— Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 16 Sep. 2026
The young lady had specially flown in from New York and Alan had concocted a piece of simple blackmail.

— Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of concocted

Verb

Our research suggests these tombs were designed and constructed not simply to house the dead, but to affect the living through a sensorily immersive environment similar to a modern 3D film experience.

— Jacqueline Ortoleva, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026
As such, the narratives constructed by mainstream media outlets are not mere reflections of events but active tools of persuasion.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of constructed

Adjective

The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.

— Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Supporters of recent state AI regulations said the measures will address potential threats to public safety and personal privacy, and to counter any mendacious actions created by AI, while not hindering innovation.

— Hope Moses, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026

Definition of mendacious

Verb

However, actually measuring time down to the second only became possible after Christiaan Huygens invented the pendulum clock in 1657.

— Vahe Peroomian, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026
In Canada, when an Air Canada chatbot invented a bereavement-fare policy, the airline argued the bot was a separate entity responsible for its own actions; the tribunal called the submission remarkable and made the airline pay.

— Michael Riedl, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of invented

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trumped-up

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“Trumped-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trumped-up. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of trumped-up

adjective

verb

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