DRUMS UP Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

drums up

verb

present tense third-person singular of drum up

as in devises

to create or think of by clever use of the imagination anyone who drums up a better way of doing this tedious task will make a fortune

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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 drums up That said, the actress playing the diminutive vigilante — a remarkable Sneha Kumari — drums up just enough passion and intrigue to counterbalance this relatively rote unfurling. — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2026 Still, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) drums up fear of immigrants. — Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Time, 16 July 2026 Randy Newman’s score even drums up a rousing Viking chant. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026 As Walmart’s online business drums up more revenue from home deliveries, advertising and commissions from sellers on its third-party marketplace, e-commerce has become a profitable business. — Melissa Repko, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drums up

Verb

The British-American actress plays Hannah, a music student who devises a fake dating scheme with hockey star Garrett (Belmont Cameli) to catch the attention of her crush, Justin (Josh Heuston).

— Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026
Six men are eaten by the Cyclops before Odysseus devises a plan to escape from the cave they are trapped in.

— Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 June 2026

Definition of devises

Verb

Through artifacts spanning 5,000 years, the exhibition constructs an extraordinary history of fashion and the body—material, carnal, vulnerable, seductive, devotional, fragmented—and its transpositions into various expressive languages.

— Judith Clark, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2026
Hur judiciously constructs scene after scene that pulls and pushes the various probes closer to and further from the mysterious truth, which feels at once obscured and hidden in plain sight.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of constructs

Verb

The new film continues the story of the conclusion of Holland’s third Spider-Man film, where Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) concocts a spell to make everyone forget Peter as a way to save the multiverse.

— Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Driver’s character concocts a way for the duo to start an environmental business together as Russians, largely the mafia, are involved in recalibrating a canal in New York City.

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 17 May 2026

Definition of concocts

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drumsticks

drums up

drum up

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“Drums up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drums%20up. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of drums up

verb

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