UPENDED Synonyms: 147 Similar and Opposite Words

upended 1 of 2

adjective

as in lifted

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upended

2 of 2

verb

past tense of upend

as in defeated

to achieve a victory over the team won the division play-offs, but was upended in the final championship game

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as in erected

to fix in an upright position we had to upend the sofa in order to fit it into the elevator

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 upended

Adjective

Her notions of justice and the law — indeed, of her very sense of self — are then upended when she herself is assaulted by Julian (Daniel Ings), her colleague and boyfriend who comes from a relatively privileged background. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026 The category five storm tragically destroyed houses and upended lives throughout the Virgin Islands. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, bright but chaotic grad Pella’s life gets upended at a splashy wedding. — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026 In Omelet from the Other Side, ten-year-old Florence Fortescue’s life is disastrously upended when her parents move the family from an exciting city apartment to a boring farmhouse in the country. — Caroline Carlson, Literary Hub, 1 Sep. 2026 This is half of what Maura wants people to understand; that there are people behind the statistics, that there are children who have grown up without a father and spouses who saw their life upended, never to be righted again. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 Competing factions of the notorious Sinaloa cartel have been engaged in a bloody, almost two-year civil war that has left thousands dead and upended life in Culiacán and elsewhere in the state. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026 Many of the President’s posts on the platform have upended markets. — Chad De Guzman, Time, 17 July 2026 Now travel back to 2019, before the pandemic upended real estate. — Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 13 July 2026

Verb

Still, some families said a return to school brings back a familiar sense of routine that was upended by war. — ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026 With this offensive, the Houthis have shattered a status quo along the coast, upended a truce that had largely held since 2022, and set the stage for further consolidation of their control of the north. — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026 The story follows Wesley, an ordinary worker whose life is upended when he becomes entangled with a hidden resistance questioning everything the Collective has taught them. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026 The Trial of Alec Baldwin follows the mercurial yet beloved actor as his life is upended by the October 2021 on-set shooting. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026 Notably, this summer’s tally was 9% higher than that of the same period in 2019 — before the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes upended the industry — though when accounting for inflation, this summer ends up ranking below. — Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 The summer box office was already the biggest since COVID upended the industry in 2020 — and now the season has become the highest-grossing of all time. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 7 Sep. 2026 But the start of the war with Iran in February upended that trajectory, as a spike in oil prices raised fears that inflation could flare up again, said Chen Zhao, an economist at Redfin. — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026 The accusation has upended the race in Joplin, a safe Republican district. — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for upended

Verb

In 2022, Hoover defeated sitting legislator Ken Cooley by just 1 percentage point in a race that took days to call.

— Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 20 Sep. 2026
The Rangers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Saturday night in Arlington, followed shortly by the completion of the Houston Astros’ 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves in Houston.

— Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of defeated

Verb

School officials erected metal fencing around the LSU team bus entrance at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and announced that anyone wearing LSU gear in the Ole Miss student section would be removed from the game.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Despite a preliminary injunction barring the venue from closing, people were kicked out of the building and barricades erected in the name of public safety that same day.

— Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of erected

Verb

No, the better choice is Bran, who may not have the bloodline claim but overcame a near-death experience and downloaded the whole of Westerosi history into his brain.

— Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
Corbin Carroll hit a two-run walk-off homer with one out in the ninth inning for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who overcame two three-run deficits to beat the Miami Marlins 8-7 on Monday in Phoenix.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of overcame

Verb

From that restaurant Cardoso could look out the window and see sloping hills and Lucas’ Wagyu cows raised there on the farm.

— Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Neighbors cite traffic risks in the area Neighbors said ongoing construction in the area had created a dangerous traffic pattern and raised concerns about children walking to and from school.

— Caroline Foreback, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of raised

Verb

Those awardees — the people who developed and mastered the famous landing capability of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket — were announced in April.

— Mike Wall, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Players like Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic have mastered the art of using their open-stance backhand to stretch into and out of the corners.

— Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of mastered

Verb

As public health workers tried to boost rates, vaccine access took another dramatic turn in 2024.

— Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 18 Sep. 2026
Mahomes dropped back just four minutes into the Chiefs’ opener against the Broncos on Monday, looked to his left and never took his eyes off his favorite target, Travis Kelce, before firing in his direction.

— Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of took

Verb

Raczkowski, who was dispatched to the call, called the 911 dispatcher to order a cab for Reaves and to inquire about outstanding warrants.

— Jim Turner, Sun Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
Times may be affected because SEECOM is on a different radio frequency than QuadCom, requiring mutual aid to be dispatched through phone calls, Rynders said.

— Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of dispatched

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“Upended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upended. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of upended

adjective

verb

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