trumped-up 1 of 2

Definition of trumped-upnext

trumped up

2 of 2

verb

past tense of trump up

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 trumped-up
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
Verb
But İmamoğlu has been detained, since 2025, on a string of charges of corruption and bribery which are widely believed to be trumped up and designed to bar him from ever competing against Erdoğan nationally. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026 Tran’s lawyer has called the charges trumped up and said Tran will be vindicated in the end. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026 But in a statement issued by his attorney, Maluchnik denies all of that, saying the charges have been trumped up. — Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026 Because of the differences they are labeled as evil, incompetent, corrupt or some other trumped up charge such as antisemitic. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trumped-up
Adjective
  • That spending is accelerating even as the technology remains largely unproven in terms of profitability and productivity .
    — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026
  • If anything, the addition of unproven players could have been seen as reason for skepticism, reason to believe the carousel would continue.
    — Nicolas Villamil, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • In 2020, Disney devised a range of bespoke telecasts of a Wild Card game, one tailored for younger viewers on the company’s Freeform cable outlet.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Gene regulation wasn’t understood when Waddington first devised his landscape and rope network.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Prosecutors allege the crew printed fraudulent UPS labels to reroute boxes nationwide.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Rush’s fraudulent conduct cost the federal government approximately $194 million in total losses, according to the Justice Department.
    — Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • 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
  • Martha’s concocted plenty over the years, including her cider-bourbon cocktail made with apple cider, bourbon, lemon juice, ginger, and apple garnishes.
    — Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 16 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Perfectly made-up, everything in place.
    — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 23 June 2026
  • Parts would be missing, or made-up.
    — Kevin Brazil, Harpers Magazine, 9 June 2026
Verb
  • Hirose, who also writes and edits, has constructed a brilliantly volatile scenario, vulnerable to any number of potentially explosive and destructive dramatic developments.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Related Articles Her home in the West Village was constructed in the 1920s as a residential hotel with most of the units being used as studios or one-bedroom apartments.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Supporters of recent state AI regulations said the measures will address potential threats to public safety and personal privacy, and to counter any mendacious actions created by AI, while not hindering innovation.
    — Hope Moses, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • However, actually measuring time down to the second only became possible after Christiaan Huygens invented the pendulum clock in 1657.
    — Vahe Peroomian, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In Canada, when an Air Canada chatbot invented a bereavement-fare policy, the airline argued the bot was a separate entity responsible for its own actions; the tribunal called the submission remarkable and made the airline pay.
    — Michael Riedl, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Trumped-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trumped-up. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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