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
-
From harborside penthouses to country retreats, Daher Interior Design devises functional and beautiful spaces that stand the test of time.—
Elizabeth Stamp,
Architectural Digest,
15 Apr. 2025
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Though the defenses devised by Perrin hold for a long time despite there being only a grand total of three professional soldiers in the entire village — Faile, Bain, and Chiad — the good guys are betrayed from within.—
Sean T. Collins,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
This lineup was constructed to make the other question marks on the roster irrelevant.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
-
There was no natural gas service to the home, officials said, adding that it had recently been constructed.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
He was not accused of concocting evidence against Read.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
11 Apr. 2025
-
He is credited with concocting the opaque formula used to calculate the tariffs imposed on imports from each country, which is based on the trade deficit between the U.S. and each trading partner, not their tariffs on American imports.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Dire wolves did overlap with early humans at the end of the Ice Age, around 11,500 years ago, but humans had barely invented agriculture at that point, let alone begun building the cities and interstate highways that would encroach upon the natural world.—
Andrea Marks,
Rolling Stone,
12 Apr. 2025
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That doesn’t portray a hero, but rather someone so arrogant as to invent his own law and appoint himself its executioner.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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On a Reddit post drumming up support for the country-wide April 5 protests—more than 1,000 are planned—one user had their own unequivocal answer to the question of how best to build momentum.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2025
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Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s protégé who succeeded her as RN’s president, launched a petition to drum up support for her.—
Joseph Ataman,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trump up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trump%20up. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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