Synonyms of upending

upending

verb

present participle of upend

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

• defeating
• overcoming
• mastering
• taking
• beating
• dispatching
• conquering
• getting
• stopping
• subduing
• surmounting
• succeeding
• besting
• licking
• trimming
• overmatching
• prevailing (over)
• winning (against)
• triumphing (over)
• overbearing
• worsting
• sweeping
• burying
• getting the better of
• getting around
• crushing
• doing down
• finishing
• upsetting
• slaughtering
• surpassing
• skunking
• annihilating
• flattening
• exceeding
• clobbering
• scoring
• overwhelming
• capping
• whipping
• overthrowing
• breaking
• trouncing
• knocking for a loop
• topping
• routing
• subjugating
• transcending
• thrashing
• vanquishing
• excelling
• bombing
• flourishing
• unseating
• walloping
• creaming
• blowing out
• eclipsing
• edging (out)
• drubbing
• outdoing
• shellacking
• outstripping
• blowing away
• skinning
• nosing out
• outshining
• overpowering
• bettering
• outdistancing
• pipping
• smoking
• waxing
• knocking over
• outfighting
• overtopping
• knocking off
• snowing under
• acing (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• losing (to)
• falling
• going down
• failing
• giving up
• collapsing
• folding
• going under
• flopping
• washing out
• flunking

2

as in erecting

to fix in an upright position

we had to upend the sofa in order to fit it into the elevator

Synonyms & Similar Words

• erecting
• raising
• lifting
• rearing
• hoisting
• pitching
• elevating
• setting up
• bracing
• upholding
• supporting
• putting up
• upraising
• buttressing
• upping
• heightening
• uplifting
• craning
• propping (up)
• hiking
• boosting
• shoring (up)
• heaving
• hefting
• jacking (up)
• picking up
• perking (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flattening
• leveling
• demolishing
• tearing down
• razing
• knocking down

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of upending

In a time when peers such as the New York Dolls and Velvet Underground were upending rock and roll with glamour and arty disaffection, Television fulfilled the genre’s promises of both swaggering virtuosity and restless reinvention. — Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026

Jason Mast with another insightful look at how China’s policies are upending the global biotech industry. — O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 5 Nov. 2026

Karen Zacarías’ comedy about a book club that becomes the subject of a documentary, upending the sanctity and organization of the group, was first staged in 2008. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026

More than a dozen people were killed and over 90 others injured over a Halloween weekend marred by gun violence, with multiple shootings across the country upending celebrations. — Eduardo Cuevas, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026

In an email responding to ProPublica’s questions, Eastman acknowledged Mitchell had solicited the memo but disputed his strategy was aimed at upending the election. — Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 28 Oct. 2026

Saudi Ministry of Media | Reuters Deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia's second-busiest airport over the past week are highlighting how conflicts in the Middle East are upending air travel on a larger scale. — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026

Adrift Buendía Estudios Canarias, Boomerang TV, Atresmedia Five fishermen, who are presumed dead, return home two years later, upending the lives their wives had rebuilt without them. — Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026

This is important to me, because as much as these tech companies claim to be upending everything with AI and claiming extraordinarily special privileges as a result, there is still legal gravity constraining them. — James Folta, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026