1
as in defeated
to achieve a victory over
the team won the division play-offs, but was upended in the final championship game
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in erected
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 upended
Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
The group is suddenly upended when one couple -- Anne and Nick (Kenney-Silver and Steve Carrell, respectively) -- abruptly divorces and Nick introduces the group to a younger girlfriend, Ginny (Henningsen).
—Angeline Jane Bernabe, ABC News, 28 May 2026
Set in sunny Palm Springs, the story follows a wealthy, politically conservative family whose Christmas is upended when their daughter returns home to reveal she’s written an explosive tell-all memoir.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 26 May 2026
But their fresh start is quickly upended when a wildfire tears through the property.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 16 May 2026
While schools have focused on catching kids up since the COVID-19 pandemic upended education, reading test scores have been falling since 2013 for eighth graders and 2015 for fourth graders, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
—CBS News, 13 May 2026
The raid upended tenants’ lives.
—Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, 13 May 2026
China’s decision to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets, and its ban on semiconductors from Nexperia China, upended supply chains central to global automakers, with political and economic consequences across Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 11 May 2026
The ordeal, which exposed fierce acrimony between House and Senate Republicans, left thousands of workers without pay, upended air travel and jeopardized Americans' safety.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 1 May 2026
Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 June 2026
While many voters may have been unfamiliar with the insurance commissioner’s role heading into Election Day, the position has become increasingly critical in recent years as destructive wildfires have upended the state’s home insurance market.
—Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 3 June 2026
Second, in much the same way as the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 dramatically changed conditions on international capital markets, the war in the Middle East has upended the world’s equity and credit markets.
—Fortune, 2 June 2026
The summer after eighth grade, both Celi and Elio have tech-centric plans (making content for social media in Celi’s case, gaming in Elio’s), but those plans are upended when their families separately crack down on screen time and send both kids to Mexico to experience life in the analog world.
—Literary Hub, 1 June 2026
While studying medicine in Sydney in 2015 with a view to specializing in cardiology, Aengus Tran did a two-month clinical placement in his native Vietnam that upended his plan.
—Zinnia Lee, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
In the years since COVID-19 upended the market, there’s been way more empty space in the Atlanta area than companies want to lease.
—Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 27 May 2026
But those plans were upended by the weather, with Trump canning them on Tuesday evening in a Truth Social post.
—Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 26 May 2026
With two goals in 127 seconds, the Vegas Golden Knights upended the Western Conference Final and left Ball Arena in stunned silence Friday night.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 23 May 2026
Adjective
Thomas, who was a runner, had his life completely upended, going in and out of various hospitals for the rest of his life.
—Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
The group is suddenly upended when one couple -- Anne and Nick (Kenney-Silver and Steve Carrell, respectively) -- abruptly divorces and Nick introduces the group to a younger girlfriend, Ginny (Henningsen).
—Angeline Jane Bernabe, ABC News, 28 May 2026
Set in sunny Palm Springs, the story follows a wealthy, politically conservative family whose Christmas is upended when their daughter returns home to reveal she’s written an explosive tell-all memoir.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 26 May 2026
But their fresh start is quickly upended when a wildfire tears through the property.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 16 May 2026
While schools have focused on catching kids up since the COVID-19 pandemic upended education, reading test scores have been falling since 2013 for eighth graders and 2015 for fourth graders, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
—CBS News, 13 May 2026
The raid upended tenants’ lives.
—Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, 13 May 2026
China’s decision to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets, and its ban on semiconductors from Nexperia China, upended supply chains central to global automakers, with political and economic consequences across Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 11 May 2026
The ordeal, which exposed fierce acrimony between House and Senate Republicans, left thousands of workers without pay, upended air travel and jeopardized Americans' safety.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 1 May 2026
Verb
This follows a series of antitrust victories against the NCAA and power conferences that have upended a system long inhibiting players’ abilities to fully benefit from the wealth their talents generated.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 June 2026
While many voters may have been unfamiliar with the insurance commissioner’s role heading into Election Day, the position has become increasingly critical in recent years as destructive wildfires have upended the state’s home insurance market.
—Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 3 June 2026
Second, in much the same way as the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 dramatically changed conditions on international capital markets, the war in the Middle East has upended the world’s equity and credit markets.
—Fortune, 2 June 2026
The summer after eighth grade, both Celi and Elio have tech-centric plans (making content for social media in Celi’s case, gaming in Elio’s), but those plans are upended when their families separately crack down on screen time and send both kids to Mexico to experience life in the analog world.
—Literary Hub, 1 June 2026
While studying medicine in Sydney in 2015 with a view to specializing in cardiology, Aengus Tran did a two-month clinical placement in his native Vietnam that upended his plan.
—Zinnia Lee, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
In the years since COVID-19 upended the market, there’s been way more empty space in the Atlanta area than companies want to lease.
—Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 27 May 2026
But those plans were upended by the weather, with Trump canning them on Tuesday evening in a Truth Social post.
—Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 26 May 2026
With two goals in 127 seconds, the Vegas Golden Knights upended the Western Conference Final and left Ball Arena in stunned silence Friday night.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 23 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upended
Verb
-
DeGette has defeated primary challengers before, but this time her opponents have lined up long endorsement rosters.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
McKendree University defeated Cal State San Marcos 4-3 Sunday to eliminate the Cougars and advance to the best-of-three series to determine the NCAA Division II softball champions.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2026
Verb
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New York — In New York’s Hudson Valley, the artist Anicka Yi has erected columns bursting with mercurial microbial life, in hues of acid green and coffee, arranged like an archaeological dig at Storm King Art Center.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
29 May 2026
-
Civil servants in the town of Fujikawaguchiko erected a black wall to try to stop tourists from deluging the town to take photos in front of a backdrop of Mount Fuji.—
Alex Ledsom,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The Miami Hurricanes overcame the first-inning implosion on Saturday night, one in which poor pitching from AJ Ciscar and poor defense behind him allowed the Florida Gators to score six runs in the winner’s bracket game in the Gainesville Regional of the NCAA tournament.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
31 May 2026
-
La Mirada scored two runs in the fifth inning, but Escobar closed out well and overcame walking five batters.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
Might a generation raised on social media, a force often credited with hastening the death of theatrical moviegoing, instead prove to be its salvation?—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
31 May 2026
-
Further negotiations between Israel and Lebanon scheduled this week in Washington raised speculation that the two sides could reach a new ceasefire, which Iran has demanded as a precondition of any broader diplomatic settlement with the US.—
Brendan Ruberry,
semafor.com,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
End-of-grade assessments are meant to measure if students have mastered the grade-appropriate content laid out in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2026
-
Rather than hiring dozens of new staffers to helm these properties, the media companies are trying to find areas of expertise already mastered by current employees.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Brendan Banfield and the 26-year-old au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, both took the stand during the double-murder trial and offered conflicting accounts about the killings.—
Nicki Brown,
CNN Money,
5 June 2026
-
Throughout the trial, stress took an enormous toll on Jackson, defense attorney Mark Geragos said in the docuseries.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
Verb
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The petition delivery was a tamer affair than in Wichita, where police dispatched a bomb squad to examine the boxes of petitions after receiving a tip.—
Jack Harvel,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
-
The Dallas Morning News reported that more than 40 Dallas Fire-Rescue units and 100 firefighters were dispatched to the 911 call reporting the gas leak.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
The inventor of the Basque cheesecake, a dessert that has conquered the world, will retire next year, leaving behind a legacy that has reshaped menus globally.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
1 June 2026
-
Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger conquered DWTS season 10 with Derek Hough, and she's been unstoppable ever since.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upended. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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