1
as in defeating
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 erecting
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
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Recent Examples of upending
These systems are expanding the reach and capabilities of vessels at sea at lightning speed, upending existing definitions of aircraft carriers and making the ocean a vital testing ground for new technology.
—
Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Season 14 also got its first wildcard contestant, with Crane entering the competition and promptly upending things.
—Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Jan. 2026
These problems are compounded by climate change, which is upending the water cycle and bringing more severe droughts and floods.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
And his declining poll numbers also increase the chances that Democrats take the House by a significant enough margin that Trump would have no real means of upending the election results through claims of fraud.
—Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2026
Ryman’s narrative lands upon lives crossed in some way with Baum’s book, and cares less about upending fantasy than treating it seriously, as a shade of reality most Americans cannot live without—a necessity that, if devastating, often proves less so than the alternative.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2026
The loving chaos wrought by Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds as Alex’s parents in their family home further adds to the subversion of the film, upending expectations of film parents whose son is going through a life-changing event.
—Carole Horst, Variety, 8 Jan. 2026
The big story Last month, Indian airports descended into chaos as hundreds of flights were cancelled by the country’s largest airline, Indigo, upending travel plans for thousands of passengers.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Jan. 2026
Both Tong and his counterpart in Rhode Island, Attorney General Peter Neronha, followed up with their own request on Monday which reiterated the developers’ claim that federal intervention risks raising costs for electric customers while upending thousands of local jobs.
—John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 7 Jan. 2026
Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Season 14 also got its first wildcard contestant, with Crane entering the competition and promptly upending things.
—Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Jan. 2026
These problems are compounded by climate change, which is upending the water cycle and bringing more severe droughts and floods.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
And his declining poll numbers also increase the chances that Democrats take the House by a significant enough margin that Trump would have no real means of upending the election results through claims of fraud.
—Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2026
Ryman’s narrative lands upon lives crossed in some way with Baum’s book, and cares less about upending fantasy than treating it seriously, as a shade of reality most Americans cannot live without—a necessity that, if devastating, often proves less so than the alternative.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2026
The loving chaos wrought by Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds as Alex’s parents in their family home further adds to the subversion of the film, upending expectations of film parents whose son is going through a life-changing event.
—Carole Horst, Variety, 8 Jan. 2026
The big story Last month, Indian airports descended into chaos as hundreds of flights were cancelled by the country’s largest airline, Indigo, upending travel plans for thousands of passengers.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Jan. 2026
Both Tong and his counterpart in Rhode Island, Attorney General Peter Neronha, followed up with their own request on Monday which reiterated the developers’ claim that federal intervention risks raising costs for electric customers while upending thousands of local jobs.
—John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upending
Verb
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Dirksen was elected to the Senate in 1950, defeating Scott Lucas, the incumbent Democrat and Senate majority leader.—
John T. Shaw,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
-
McBeth had a successful week for Saratoga, defeating her 11th-grade opponent from MacDonald High 13-1 on Tuesday.—
Christian Babcock,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In a completely different approach, Meta has started erecting tent-like structures to house servers to get their data centers online faster.—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
7 Jan. 2026
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In a flurry of recent activity, the city has been installing payment kiosks, erecting informational signs, compiling the license plate numbers of park volunteers and establishing a website for frequent-user permits and city-resident discounts.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Here’s her strategy for overcoming procrastination.—
Sophie Caldwell,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
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For Nayyar, overcoming user hesitancy, particularly among older generations, has been an ongoing educational process.—
Esha Chhabra,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Along with her late husband, the pair founded VIB, an anti-violence nonprofit dedicated to raising social awareness and aiding community causes in Boston, federal prosecutors said.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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During the 2020 campaign, Joe Biden proposed raising the corporate tax rate.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Building the airframe has proven easier than mastering the software and sensors that allow an unmanned aircraft to find, track, and engage an enemy.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Jan. 2026
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A lot of technical challenges followed suit in the two-years-in-the-making collection, from mastering the right scale and proportions to fine-tuning the hand-applications, pavé settings and inlays of colored stones including amethyst, tiger’s eye, mother of pearl and malachite.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Sure, some out there were robbing old people, choking people, robbing them, beating them up, taking their money, but Troy just wasn’t like that.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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Ways to do that include cold showers, taking a nature walk, laughing, taking deep breaths, listening to something relaxing, or humming to yourself.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Point Loma Nazarene’s women’s basketball team improved to 14-4 and climbed back on top of the PacWest Conference standings with a 10-2 mark after beating Azusa Pacific (80-55) and contender Vanguard (59-57) last week.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
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In the final, Black & Alshon threw down the gauntlet, beating the top pair in three straight for gold.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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After a 1-2 start, the Patriots have lost just once since September, finishing the regular season with a 14-3 record before dispatching the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Broncos in the playoffs.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
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Trump has moved to change course by dispatching his border czar, Tom Homan.—
Rachel Scott,
ABC News,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upending. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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