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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 upending
Kon subverts slasher tropes and nimbly toys with reality, constantly upending audience expectations and keeping us on our toes.
—
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
The legislation comes at a time when AI chatbots are upending parts of the internet.
—Allan Smith, NBC news, 28 Oct. 2025
And a chance encounter with ICE in August landed Barojas Solano in detention for six weeks, upending his legal process and leaving them terrified that he could be detained again.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 26 Oct. 2025
Within the next decade, the enchanting imagism of silent film would be supplanted by the talkie’s emphasis on dialogue and narrative realism, upending the format and studios that had made Keaton a star of the Old Hollywood system.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
Immigration judges in Aurora and elsewhere have been instructed to expedite removal cases and to stop allowing bail for immigrants who’ve long lived in the country’s interior — keeping them detained and upending more than 25 years of practice.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025
OpenA is one of several companies that has set its sights on the web browser—one of the oldest and most staid internet products—in the hopes of upending the status quo and potentially rekindling the famed browser wars of the early internet era.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Climate change is upending the global insurance industry by driving more extreme events.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2025
The entire staff of the CDC's Washington office was eliminated in the recent cuts, upending a longstanding support system for Congressional representatives.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
The legislation comes at a time when AI chatbots are upending parts of the internet.
—Allan Smith, NBC news, 28 Oct. 2025
And a chance encounter with ICE in August landed Barojas Solano in detention for six weeks, upending his legal process and leaving them terrified that he could be detained again.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 26 Oct. 2025
Within the next decade, the enchanting imagism of silent film would be supplanted by the talkie’s emphasis on dialogue and narrative realism, upending the format and studios that had made Keaton a star of the Old Hollywood system.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
Immigration judges in Aurora and elsewhere have been instructed to expedite removal cases and to stop allowing bail for immigrants who’ve long lived in the country’s interior — keeping them detained and upending more than 25 years of practice.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025
OpenA is one of several companies that has set its sights on the web browser—one of the oldest and most staid internet products—in the hopes of upending the status quo and potentially rekindling the famed browser wars of the early internet era.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Climate change is upending the global insurance industry by driving more extreme events.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2025
The entire staff of the CDC's Washington office was eliminated in the recent cuts, upending a longstanding support system for Congressional representatives.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upending
Verb
-
Polls show the race tightening as Mamdani looks to hold his lead after defeating Cuomo in a stunning upset in the June primary.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
-
His team fell one win — one run — short of defeating baseball’s behemoth in the World Series.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
China, for political reasons, is fast erecting barriers.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
-
And, in a break with the past, the VDMA is now expressing support for erecting countervailing tariffs when foreign products are found to be made with the support of government subsidies.—
Greg Rosalsky,
NPR,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Key challenges to commercialization include creating a material that is both safe and highly conductive and overcoming the high costs of mass production.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Castellani and Muritiba spoke about how the United States can learn from Brazil and their country’s history of overcoming fascism.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Still, the project adds another exclusive tier to a venue already marked by VIP enclaves, raising questions about how much of COTA’s most distinctive real estate will remain truly accessible — and for how long.—
Patrick Iversen,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The key to raising emotionally resilient kids is the ability to repair.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But Musk, a sci-fi fan, has long been focused on humanity colonizing Mars and mastering space travel.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The mastering guy gets more lines than the entire E Street Band.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
When in doubt, close the page and verify the URL before taking any action.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Roan ended up taking home the trophy.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The foetal beat of air beats all around Helm like a beating heart (must elegantly variate).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
In March 2019, a week before the letter was published, the Axeman attacked the Cortimiglia family, beating grocery owner Charlie and his wife Rosie with an axe.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
After dispatching Matt last week, the Ulis took Jason out this week to give themselves the numbers heading towards another tribe swap next week.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Oct. 2025
-
This aunt would look into the ball and see the face of some distant relative, and then announce that the family would be having an unexpected visitor, before dispatching someone to the butcher’s to buy the very best pork chops for the occasion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Upending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upending. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share