Synonyms of work up

work up

verb

as in to develop

to produce or bring about especially by long or repeated effort

spent years working up a period novel that was historically accurate in every detail

Synonyms & Similar Words

• develop
• forge
• create
• grind (out)
• work out
• carve (out)
• craft
• bring forth
• thrash (out)
• achieve
• hammer out
• construct
• generate
• devise
• throw up
• carry out
• compose
• turn out
• form
• engineer
• churn out
• crank out
• accomplish
• manufacture
• cook (up)
• model
• shape
• invent
• effect
• tailor
• conceive
• originate
• hatch
• mint
• fashion
• cobble (together or up)
• concoct
• contrive
• fabricate
• frame
• bring off

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• destroy
• tear down
• dismantle
• demolish
• ruin
• wreck
• raze
• undo
• unmake

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of work up

Landau quickly implemented a strict hierarchy at the agency, requiring subordinates to work up a chain of command before contacting her — an about-face from Frolich’s collaborative approach, attorneys said. —Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 27 May 2026

Putting words on the page seems too low stakes to get worked up about, and yet the terror of saying something taboo—or just being boring—feels like a terrible fate to most writers. —David O’Neill, New Yorker, 20 May 2026

The point is that a senior person who already operates above average in their core domain can now staff the adjacent functions themselves, at sufficient quality, without waiting for cross-functional resources or running work up and down the approval chain. —Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026

Thou shalt not get too worked up about the chat! —Sam Reed, Glamour, 18 May 2026