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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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Recent Examples of trumped-up
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023
Erdogan’s government has thrown (or attempted to throw) a number of key political opponents into jail on what critics say are trumped-up, spurious charges.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 10 May 2023
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
Although the woman-alien’s powers were trumped up to comedic effect, Estelle could not help but see that beneath its B-movie veneer, Devil Girl from Mars tapped into a looming anxiety that was palpable all around.
—Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
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
Erdogan’s government has thrown (or attempted to throw) a number of key political opponents into jail on what critics say are trumped-up, spurious charges.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 10 May 2023
Verb
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
Although the woman-alien’s powers were trumped up to comedic effect, Estelle could not help but see that beneath its B-movie veneer, Devil Girl from Mars tapped into a looming anxiety that was palpable all around.
—Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trumped-up
Verb
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New uses are continually being devised.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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With no worthy opponents left, Baki and the underground fighters grow restless — until a plan is devised to resurrect Miyamoto Musashi, Japan’s greatest swordsman.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The deal is heavily marketed around AI capabilities, but translating Brex's AI-native platform into value across Capital One's massive scale is unproven.—
Ron Shevlin,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Makary, an avid podcast guest, has used his airtime to issue devastating takedowns of nutrition education, only to be interrupted by advertisements for unproven dietary supplements.—
Benjamin Mazer,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors say Brendan Banfield concocted an elaborate scheme to kill his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, Joseph Ryan, in their family home in February 2023.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
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But for his first contribution to the network in 2026, The Beauty, he and co-creator Matthew Hodgson have concocted a genre-hopping oddity that sounds even less likely to work.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Investors in a fraudulent clean energy scheme might be one step closer to getting their money back, after the partner of a Chicago area businessman pleaded guilty to federal charges.—
Steffanie Dupree,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
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In California alone, nearly a third of all community college applicants in 2024 were identified as fraudulent, according to the California Community Colleges, the state's administrative body for the community college system.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The trend carried on into the second quarter, as sophomore Will Palmer drilled a three-pointer with five minutes to play in the half as the Skippers constructed a 30-20 lead.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
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The Orion capsules built for the Artemis missions abandoned the Avcoat honeycomb structure in favor of a heat shield constructed using large blocks of the material.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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And there's not one right way to do it, considering the holiday is made-up and the real thing is just around the corner.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
19 Nov. 2025
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And while OpenAI’s defenders could chalk that up to an isolated or even made-up incident, within 24 hours of the GPT-5 launch Altman was doing damage control, seemingly caught of guard by the bad reception.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Mexicali stakes a claim to the clamato cocktail, a heady blend of vodka, clam juice and other ingredients invented in the 1960s by a bartender at the city’s Acueducto Piano Bar.—
Joe Yogerst,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Not the general kinds of graphs that the team was studying, but a special type of graph invented in 1878 by the mathematician Arthur Cayley.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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In the dry California hills, an intentional community tries to build a pyre for one of its own, and, in the complex and mendacious aftermath, may end up sort of burning down the nation-state.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
14 Dec. 2025
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To claim the opposite rings hollow at best, if not mendacious.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trumped-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trumped-up. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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