as in invented
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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
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
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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Riffmade founders Stephanie Betesh and Nicholas Steigmann devised a whole line of furnishings with this idea in mind, starting with a desk that can be covered up when the work day is over.—
Lori Keong,
Architectural Digest,
30 Oct. 2025
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The British military historian John Keegan revealed the hazards of this kind of planning in his anatomy of the Schlieffen Plan, the German strategy for fighting a two-front continental war that was devised, in 1905, by the chief of the army’s general staff, Alfred von Schlieffen.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The popular painkiller has sparked controversy after Trump in September promoted an unproven link between Tylenol and a rise in autism among children.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
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However, this technology is unproven, meaning more efficient cooling systems on Earth are still required.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Even so, del Toro has not merely concocted another Whale of a tale.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
28 Oct. 2025
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Each district sends two children as tributes to the fight-to-the-death Hunger Games, concocted by the capitol to keep the populace distracted.—
Adam Bell,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Such fraudulent science can slow medical progress and delay vital treatment, The Scientist reported, especially when, as in this case, journals rarely took steps to correct the record.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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The illegality generated more than $1 billion in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid.—
Kevin G. Hall,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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For Running Fence, I was expected to travel regularly to Petaluma (about three hours north of San Francisco), where Fence would be constructed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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The Forbidden City was constructed in the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty as the imperial family’s workplace and residence.—
Fred He,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 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
Verb
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This crowd pleaser, invented by bartender Sam Ross in 2008, gets its charm from two different bittersweet Italian liqueurs, even though the resulting cocktail is neither particularly bitter nor sweet.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
25 Oct. 2025
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There’s no way Romy and Michele could have lied about having invented Post-its in 2025.—
Keaton Bell,
Vogue,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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President Trump is mendacious, vengeful, and unscrupulous.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Trumped-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trumped-up. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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