trump up

verb

Definition of trump upnext
as in to devise
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 trump up The funding that currently pays state law enforcement overtime to trump up charges against those suspected. — Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 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 See All Example Sentences for trump up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trump up
  1. devise
  2. construct
  3. concoct
  4. invent
  5. drum up
Verb
  • Gene regulation wasn’t understood when Waddington first devised his landscape and rope network.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Mungiu may have a less sadistic streak and a more active camera, but the two filmmakers share a particular commitment to narrative indeterminacy, devising intricate yet incomplete crime-story plots that function broadly as sociopolitical allegories.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of devise
Verb
  • Dyrholm will star as a woman who is unable to acknowledge and access her own feelings and constructs intimacy by stealing objects from people instead of getting close to them.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Sheerazie, lead gardener at Pasadena’s Arlington Garden, has studied permaculture and designed and constructed a number of swales at the garden and elsewhere.
    — Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of construct
Verb
  • The experimental portion of the brewery allowed guests to concoct their own brews, and more than 700 beers were created over the years, according to the brewery's Facebook post.
    — Sadie Chafe, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The White Sox concocted a creative playing style that blended elements of old-school small ball with home-run power.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of concoct
Verb
  • An American who knows nothing about real football comes to the place where it was invented and attempts to tell the creators of the sport how to play.
    — Jay Martel, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Stellantis The company says it's invented a new type of C-pillar architecture to make this happen.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of invent
Verb
  • Related Stories In some cases, part of Disney’s strategy is to drum up interest in upcoming releases.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Definition of drum up

Browse Nearby Words

trumps up
trump up
truncate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Trump up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trump%20up. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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