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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as in invented
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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
Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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
Adjective
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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The master bedroom is drenched in Dulux Heritage’s Biscuit Beige for maximum warmth, and the bed was crafted by a local joiner before being painted by William Sutherland, one of the estate’s members, using folkloric stencils devised by resident designer, Bethany Evans.—
Chloe Frost-Smith,
Vogue,
24 Sep. 2025
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Martínez, however, theorizes that Cleopatra may have devised a secret alternative plan for her burial with Antony so that the Romans would not find their bodies.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Swartz concocted this massive blockbuster trade idea, which sends Brown to his hometown team, the Atlanta Hawks.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
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Prosecutors and defense attorneys were scheduled to begin opening arguments on whether the death of a 7-year-old girl in February 2017 was a medical tragedy or the result of a murder plot concocted by her father — a former Phoenix police detective — and his Australian wife.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In a post alongside the video, Mills called for Omar to be investigated for immigration fraud in reference to unproven claims long pushed by conservatives.—
Emily Brooks,
The Hill,
20 Sep. 2025
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Kulldorff pushed back on perceptions of the committee as anti-vaccine after Kennedy rapidly named new members, many of whom lack expertise on vaccines or have made unproven claims or criticisms about them.—
Brenda Goodman,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The contestants come out wearing their final looks, and Michael Kors says that everyone’s collections were thoughtful and well-constructed, and then the judging begins.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
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Let’s bulldoze the obstacle course the insurance companies constructed and create federal guardrails to protect patients over needless denials.—
Dr. Nicholas Cozzi,
Time,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The notion that vaccines cause autism was born out of a fraudulent 1998 study, hypothesizing that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine caused intestinal inflammation, which, in turn, led to the development of autism.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
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All her fraudulent welfare handouts ceased in January 2025.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This is where the Greenpoint comes from, an excellent neo-classic riff on a Manhattan that was invented at Milk & Honey in New York, and comprises the classic build of Manhattan—rye, sweet vermouth, and bitters—into which has been spliced the inimitable French herbal liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
27 Sep. 2025
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The Free Press began publishing before the telegraph was invented.—
Detroit Free Press,
Freep.com,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Because a lot of things on reality TV are made-up situations and scenarios to provoke reactions and all of that stuff.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
2 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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At Comedy Central, Colbert rose to prominence playing a slightly exaggerated version of Bill O’Reilly and other unapologetically mendacious Fox News pundits from the George W. Bush years.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
18 July 2025
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The true story reveals both how freedom of speech first came to be conceived of as a mechanism for truth, an antidote to falsehood, and the foundation of all liberty—and that, ironically, this new and powerful theory was itself a deliberately mendacious fiction.—
Fara Dabhoiwala,
Harpers Magazine,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trumped-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trumped-up. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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