1
as in overcomes
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 erects
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 upends
The premiere ends with a shocking bit of violence that upends the way the two movies unfolded — purposely, IT filmmakers Andy and Barbara Muschietti told The Hollywood Reporter (spoilers contained in that link).
—
Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
Trump blitz upends life in Chicago Who is Chief Bovino?
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Here, Fargeat reframes the typical rape-revenge tropes with the female gaze, culminating in a scene of full-frontal male nudity that completely upends the traditional gender dynamics.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
While Piaget was certainly correct in observing that children engage in a host of unusual behaviors, my lab recently uncovered evidence that upends some long-standing assumptions about the limits of children’s logical capabilities that originated with his work.
—Celeste Kidd, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
Verdagy’s single-cell architecture also upends conventional maintenance cycles.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
Nobody Wants This follows Joanne and Noah, a podcaster and a rabbi who form an unlikely romantic bond that upends their respective social and familial circles.
—Staff Author, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
Your chances of being a long-term winner are infinitesimal, and a small percentage of people will develop an addiction that upends their lives.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Sep. 2025
Now, a new study published September 10 in the journal PLOS One again upends gender stereotypes, demonstrating that women and children were just as likely to be buried with stone tools as men.
—Sarah Durn, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
Trump blitz upends life in Chicago Who is Chief Bovino?
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Here, Fargeat reframes the typical rape-revenge tropes with the female gaze, culminating in a scene of full-frontal male nudity that completely upends the traditional gender dynamics.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
While Piaget was certainly correct in observing that children engage in a host of unusual behaviors, my lab recently uncovered evidence that upends some long-standing assumptions about the limits of children’s logical capabilities that originated with his work.
—Celeste Kidd, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
Verdagy’s single-cell architecture also upends conventional maintenance cycles.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
Nobody Wants This follows Joanne and Noah, a podcaster and a rabbi who form an unlikely romantic bond that upends their respective social and familial circles.
—Staff Author, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
Your chances of being a long-term winner are infinitesimal, and a small percentage of people will develop an addiction that upends their lives.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Sep. 2025
Now, a new study published September 10 in the journal PLOS One again upends gender stereotypes, demonstrating that women and children were just as likely to be buried with stone tools as men.
—Sarah Durn, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upends
Verb
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Robotic system overcomes key technical challenges If implemented at large scale, the system could help tackle range anxiety for EVs.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The depth of humanity Kosztolányi brings to the sorrowful life of Skylark and her adoring parents is magical, and rewards anyone who overcomes its modest premise.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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According to Politico, a landslide election generally refers to a race in which the winning candidate defeats their opponent by a margin of at least 10 percentage points.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
-
In these sparsely populated spaces, the mountain always defeats the human, instilling a deep respect for the environment.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The union has argued that an election would extend an already prolonged process, and raises opportunities for complications and appeals.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Sympathetic, apparently, to Geralt’s quest to save Ciri, Regis decides to join the gang on the road — though a closing shot of Regis privately savoring the scent of Geralt’s blood on a cloth raises some troubling questions for the show to answer down the road.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This storied sandwich is served each year at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia; and many have long tried to replicate the recipe, which seemingly masters the perfect ratio of ingredients for classic egg salad.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
23 Aug. 2025
-
Focus is difficult and hardly anyone masters the skill.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Choosing the right one takes some thought, though.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians.—
Time,
Time,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Nothing beats a trip to Costco!—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
31 Oct. 2025
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Scream With Me expands on this argument with its analysis of The Exorcist, a movie that Johnson interprets as a parable about physical abuse; its male demon torments and beats a single working mother and her child.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The winner of a duel conquers his opponent’s square, gaining more ground – the loser leaves the game.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
13 Oct. 2025
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For Nawaf Abdulhadi, joy comes when the choir conquers a difficult phrase in perfect unison.—
Billboard Arabia,
Billboard,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Father Thornton records the entire process as part of his work for the Vatican, which gets scarier by the minute; hands blaze with fire, children's voices sing in cellars, evil nuns run about, and flashlights reveal satanic images in the dark.—
Michael Lee Simpson,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
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Yeah, no, everybody who gets that chair gets cooked.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Upends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upends. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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