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
Activist groups say the charges against him were trumped up.
—
Gabe Levin, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2025
Yes, his relationship with alcohol seems to be not great and complicated, but these charges still seem trumped up to me.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 11 June 2025
In their response, Petrova’s attorneys accused the government of trumping up criminal charges in a bid to prevent her bail and motions from being heard in federal court.
—Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
And, while the charges were most likely trumped up, the city’s leaders were correct about one thing: Young people are highly suggestible.
—Patricia Schultheis, Baltimore Sun, 11 May 2025
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
Gabe Levin, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2025
Yes, his relationship with alcohol seems to be not great and complicated, but these charges still seem trumped up to me.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 11 June 2025
In their response, Petrova’s attorneys accused the government of trumping up criminal charges in a bid to prevent her bail and motions from being heard in federal court.
—Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
And, while the charges were most likely trumped up, the city’s leaders were correct about one thing: Young people are highly suggestible.
—Patricia Schultheis, Baltimore Sun, 11 May 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trump up
Verb
-
Another useful aspect entails potentially recasting or reusing the same form of custom instruction elaborations to devise other capabilities beyond this education-domain instance.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
3 Aug. 2025
-
According to one speaker, removing those guardrails and creating a dedicated non-public LLM can be an effective way to create malware and devise techniques for evading antivirus detection.—
Neil J. Rubenking,
PC Magazine,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
2 Aug. 2025
-
Depending on the species, voles construct surface or underground runways in areas with heavy ground cover.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
2 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Prosecutors say the men met while in county jail, then concocted the plan to kill the victim.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 July 2025
-
Stan Lee himself concocted the idea of a robo-pal to round out the group.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
26 July 2025
Verb
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Flip invented the Wheezer Scale for gauging the difficulty of hiking up hills.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 July 2025
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Let it be known — Heidi Klum basically invented the thirst trap.—
Brittany Talarico,
People.com,
28 July 2025
Verb
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It's done that for the Pixel 4, 8, 9 Pro, and its first foldable phone, which may have helped drum up interest when Apple’s iPhones and Samsung’s Galaxy devices have long dominated the US market.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
24 July 2025
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Charts globally reflect the excitement and sadness drummed up by the performance, and in the United States, Black Sabbath scores a long-overdue hit, as the band manages to conquer a Billboard ranking for the very first time.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
19 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trump up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trump%20up. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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