TAKEN UP Synonyms: 104 Similar and Opposite Words

taken up

verb

past participle of take up

as in lifted

to move from a lower to a higher place or position please take up the blanket so I can look underneath it

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in absorbed

to take in (something liquid) through small openings the soil was so dry that the plant seemed to take up the much-needed water instantly

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in borrowed

to take for one's own use (something originated by another) one cluster of fans started chanting the team name of the champions, and the crowd quickly took up the cry

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 taken up This is currently skewed in many places, and not only in those states which have taken up arms in the recent redistricting wars. — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026 The center of the Nordic Nook is taken up by the living room. — New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2026 And while Neon and A24 have certainly taken up the auteur mantle in the past half-decade, these studios can offer low-to-mid-level budgets, a far cry from the $100 million-plus that De Luca and Abdy greenlit. — Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026 Open System Settings > General > Storage to see how much space is taken up by Applications, Documents, and Photos. — Jason Cohen, PC Magazine, 1 Oct. 2026 Returning to Quadlin and Rudel, for example, later researchers have taken up the relationship between educational debt, time use, and students’ broader college experience. — Saurabh Anand, JSTOR Daily, 24 Sep. 2026 Selzer’s case was taken up by the free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. — Hannah Fingerhut, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026 Opening on August 24 for visits by appointment only, the Wolf Kahn Foundation and Archives has taken up residence at 134 West 26th Street. — News Desk, Artforum, 24 Aug. 2026 Judging from this album, a lot of grim topics have taken up residence there. — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 3 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for taken up

Verb

There, local fishermen demonstrated their sustainable crayfish harvesting process, and as a spectacular touch, the helicopter lifted one of the crayfish tanks straight out of the ocean, giving our client a dramatic view of the abundant catch.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026
This act temporarily lifted the statutes of limitations, allowing survivors to sue their abusers regardless of when the harm occurred.

— Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of lifted

Verb

Independent consultants, hired by the city, reviewed the plans and found the traffic expected to be generated can be absorbed by surrounding roadways with minimal impact to existing traffic, Latinovic said.

— Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
Add the flour, chocolate chunks and about three-quarters of the broken graham crackers and stir with a rubber spatula until combined and all the flour is absorbed.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of absorbed

Verb

Consider what can be borrowed, shared, revised, or delayed without losing the larger goal.

— Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 9 Oct. 2026
Law firm Quinn Emanuel’s March memo on data-center debt was making the rounds in recent days, laying out worst-case scenarios for the hundreds of billions of dollars being borrowed and spent to fund the AI buildout.

— Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of borrowed

Verb

During that time, the group raised thousands of dollars from the tobacco, gambling, and pharmaceutical industries, as detailed by a Washington Post report.

— Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
Born and raised in Callicoon, Doetsch returned to the area to retire after a career in Chicago.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of raised

Verb

The architects, some of whose work critics dismissed as better suited to Disneyland than the city, embraced the chance to apply their visual style to consumer products.

— Robb Report, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026
Does being embraced by the Nashville industry feel like a reasonable goal?

— Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of embraced

Verb

Lately, though, the push notifications alerting me to the recall du jour have taken on an unremitting, nagging tone.

— Greg Mania, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
Since her departure from the streamer in September 2020, Holland had taken on board and advisory roles before returning to the executive ranks as Global CEO of Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone‘s Sister in 2023.

— Peter White, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026