1
as in to defeat
to achieve a victory over
the team won the division play-offs, but was upended in the final championship game
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to erect
to fix in an upright position
we had to upend the sofa in order to fit it into the elevator
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of upend
Oshetsky’s newest novel follows Celia, a young woman whose seemingly idyllic life is upended when a friend of hers is murdered in an affair gone wrong.
—
Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Numerous public health experts slammed the move, which upended years of precedent and bypassed traditional decision-making structures.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
The Eagles' chances were upended when Kelee Ringo — yes, a backup — was flagged for pass interference to set up Johnson's go-ahead rushing TD.
—CBS News, 4 Jan. 2026
Hundreds gathered outside El Arepazo in Doral, sharing stories of lives upended by political violence, shortages and imprisonment, and expressing hope for freedom and a chance to rebuild their country.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for upend
Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Numerous public health experts slammed the move, which upended years of precedent and bypassed traditional decision-making structures.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
The Eagles' chances were upended when Kelee Ringo — yes, a backup — was flagged for pass interference to set up Johnson's go-ahead rushing TD.
—CBS News, 4 Jan. 2026
Hundreds gathered outside El Arepazo in Doral, sharing stories of lives upended by political violence, shortages and imprisonment, and expressing hope for freedom and a chance to rebuild their country.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for upend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upend
Verb
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The last meeting happened in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season, where the Eagles defeated the Niners 31-7 before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
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The Mean Green's best football season ever wasn't even over before the major figures from that team left, or announced their intentions to bounce ASAP; when the season did end, moments after North Texas defeated San Diego State to win the New Mexico Bowl, is when the great Denton flood began.—
Mac Engel Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Win a World Series, and statues will be erected in your honor.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
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In their latest documents, Boucher Brothers and Major Food Group are proposing to demolish the existing Nikki Beach building and erect a new structure.—
Aaron Leibowitz,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Samsung says these structural improvements allow the HP5 to overcome traditional low-light limitations.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
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Vance’s second biggest battle is overcoming political history, which statistically does not favor incumbent vice presidents’ chances of winning the White House.—
Myra Adams,
Washington Post,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Wanda Sykes made sure that comedian Ricky Gervais — a comedian whose past material raised eyebrows and allegations of transphobia — shared his big 2026 Golden Globes night with a higher power and the transgender community.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Jan. 2026
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One of them, fist raised to the sky, let out a long yell, the hoarse shout of a gold panner.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Cowboys have mastered the art of entertaining and interesting better than any sports franchise in the world, but there is a redundancy that to the person who spends a lot of their money on it is justifiably checked out.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Jan. 2026
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At the sound level, our engineer is a guy who makes all the greatest dance music in the Latin world right now [Josh Gudwin is the records’ mixing engineer and Dale Becker mastering engineer].—
Leonor C. Suárez,
Rolling Stone,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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After bringing Lillis back to shore, he was joined by other people who helped to take her out of the water with her left arm missing from the elbow.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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Visitors can spend their entire trip switching off between the two, but be sure to take some time to explore the rocky cove beaches called calas that have made Costa Blanca famous.—
Liz Provencher,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Two teenage girls are charged with kidnapping a teenage boy after allegedly luring him into a basement and beating him for three hours in early November.—
Kyle Werner,
Des Moines Register,
9 Jan. 2026
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Josh Doan scored, Colten Ellis made 30 saves in his first game in a month and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Thursday night to give them 12 victories in their past 13 games.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Skinny Pedro had conquered for each man in the camp the sacred right to choose how to confront his own death.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
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That, plus some Sunday morning news interviews and a shot at conquering Cuba, and all for the bargain basement price of one soul.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upend. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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