as in to devise
to create or think of by clever use of the imagination
parents who were always trumping up little projects for their children to do around the house
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Recent Examples of trump up
The work was banned by the Malian Ministry of Culture and Cissé was arrested and jailed on trumped up charges of accepting French funding.
—
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
Human rights groups and some Western countries have accused Iran of trying to win concessions from other nations through arrests on security charges that may have been trumped up.
—Fox News, 19 Feb. 2025
The Pennsylvania native was sentenced to 14 years on a drug smuggling charge that his family has said was trumped up, and the U.S. had called for his humanitarian release.
—Michelle Stoddart, ABC News, 11 Feb. 2025
In the stage show, set in Argentina in 1983, political prisoner Valentín Arregui is transferred to a cell already occupied by Luis Molina, a gay window dresser convicted on trumped up charges of public indecency.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, a growing number of Russian citizens has been arrested on trumped up charges and later accused of crimes, such as treason, that would justify a more serious sentence.
—Francesca Mastruzzo (tr. Elettra Pauletto), The Dial, 14 Jan. 2024
Some of those on sent to the island, had been arrested on trumped up charges, or false accusations aimed at settling old scores, while the prison population also included hardened criminals.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 3 Dec. 2024
In announcing the pardon, the president essentially claimed—without acknowledging the irony in his words—that the charges against this son were somehow trumped up by his own Justice Department.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024
Whelan had been held for more than five years by Russian authorities on what his family and the U.S. government insisted were trumped up charges of espionage.
—Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 1 Aug. 2024
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
Human rights groups and some Western countries have accused Iran of trying to win concessions from other nations through arrests on security charges that may have been trumped up.
—Fox News, 19 Feb. 2025
The Pennsylvania native was sentenced to 14 years on a drug smuggling charge that his family has said was trumped up, and the U.S. had called for his humanitarian release.
—Michelle Stoddart, ABC News, 11 Feb. 2025
In the stage show, set in Argentina in 1983, political prisoner Valentín Arregui is transferred to a cell already occupied by Luis Molina, a gay window dresser convicted on trumped up charges of public indecency.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, a growing number of Russian citizens has been arrested on trumped up charges and later accused of crimes, such as treason, that would justify a more serious sentence.
—Francesca Mastruzzo (tr. Elettra Pauletto), The Dial, 14 Jan. 2024
Some of those on sent to the island, had been arrested on trumped up charges, or false accusations aimed at settling old scores, while the prison population also included hardened criminals.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 3 Dec. 2024
In announcing the pardon, the president essentially claimed—without acknowledging the irony in his words—that the charges against this son were somehow trumped up by his own Justice Department.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024
Whelan had been held for more than five years by Russian authorities on what his family and the U.S. government insisted were trumped up charges of espionage.
—Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 1 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trump up
Verb
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Sergio Mercado Design For a project in Palm Beach, Florida, Sergio Mercado Design devised a minimalist space, allowing for the colorful artwork to take center stage.—
Elizabeth Stamp,
Architectural Digest,
29 Apr. 2025
-
The authors devised a set of experiments to scientifically investigate the phase behavior of water, starch, and cheese mixed together in various concentrations and at different temperatures.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The current police station was constructed in 1968 and has 20,300 square feet of space.—
Jennifer Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2025
-
Barcelona’s wall to defend the free kick was poorly constructed, daring Mbappe to shoot through the middle without needing to thread the needle.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Epitomizing what seems an unsustainable recent trend, a second straight 2-0 win over Houston was concocted by way of their third sacrifice fly in two days and a Vinnie Pasquantino home run among their grand total of three hits.—
Vahe Gregorian,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2025
-
The Penzance Musical, an exquisitely funny, meticulously concocted theatrical pavlova—the 1879 operetta The Pirates of Penzance by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan—has been whacked with a mallet.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
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However, the patent underscores how reliant companies like Roku are on inventing new ways to force ads onto users, which makes Roku stand out to advertisers.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
24 Apr. 2025
-
New portable instruments, such as the saxophone, were invented as well.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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As expected, the news made its rounds on social media and drummed up flashbacks of when the first ordeal went down nearly eight years ago.—
Regina Cho,
VIBE.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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The single could give Wallen his second No. 1 hit from this era right before the complete project arrives, which will only heighten expectations and drum up more excitement for the set.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trump up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trump%20up. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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