PUMPING UP Synonyms: 113 Similar and Opposite Words

pumping up

verb

present participle of pump up

as in thrilling

to cause a pleasurable stimulation of the feelings of the crowd was pumped up by the band's rocking performance

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in increasing

to make greater in size, amount, or number that pop diva is trying to pump up album sales with an extended publicity tour

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 pumping up Council Speaker Julie Menin is on the right path to pumping up Fair Fares by increasing the income threshold to participate, making enrollment automatic and even eliminating the fare entirely for some folks. —

New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026 Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is pumping up his reelection bid at age 80 by looking jacked in workouts that his critics say are more popular than the man himself. —

ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026 Taking his place in one of the Broadhurst Theatre’s box seats, DJ Griddlebone wastes no time pumping up the crowd and welcoming all and sundry Jellicles to the stage. —

Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026 Scammers start out by buying shares of a cheap stock but then convince others to buy big, pumping up the stock's value so the scammers can then sell their shares for huge profits. —

Tim McNicholas, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2026 War has always been a time for propaganda, of demonizing the enemy and pumping up your side. —

Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026 Each one of the over 300 locations had to be 300 times less likely to fail than if there had been only one, pumping up the design, manufacturing and testing requirements – and inflating the cost. —

Martin Elvis, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026 True, pumping up the dosage can give women an almost euphoric high, Christmas says. —

Lisa Jarvis, Twin Cities, 25 Dec. 2025 Different members took turns pumping up the team. —

Bryan West, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pumping up

Verb

The Vegas Golden Knights have taken Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, erasing the Carolina Hurricanes' early 2-0 lead to win a thrilling 5-4 game in Raleigh and set the tone for this best-of-seven series.

— Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 3 June 2026
The scene was genuinely awful to watch, but the movie—a story of plague, passion, period costumes, and an unwashed man in a tunic skipping town to cure writer’s block—ended up thrilling us; the portrayal of two creative minds working together (and apart) was, oddly, familiar.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 June 2026