1
as in defeating
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 erecting
to fix in an upright position
we had to upend the sofa in order to fit it into the elevator
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of upending
Winters have grown shorter in most places across the country, upending everything from tourism and recreation to the transmission season of certain diseases, report Ignacio Calderon, Ramon Padilla, Veronica Bravo and Janet Loehrke in this interactive USA Today project.
—
Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Kenya is eyeing around $600 million in emergency funds from the World Bank in a bid to soften the impact of the Iran war, which is upending economies across the continent.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
More than two years after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Maryland — resulting in the deaths of six construction workers and upending a key route that thousands relied on daily — reconstruction has hit a snag.
—Mike Stunson, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
Citizen journalism was heralded as an opportunity for nonprofessionals to participate in the creation and selection of news content, upending journalists’ roles as gatekeepers.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026
Witherspoon has long been talking about artificial intelligence and encouraging her followers to become familiar with the technology, which is rapidly upending industries from Hollywood to tech.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
But the war that’s threatening global energy supplies, upending geopolitics, fomenting a food crisis and likely to curb global growth long after any ceasefire is the Iran war.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2026
That flow has since slowed to a trickle, upending supply chains for oil, fertilizers, apparel and industrial goods.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 13 Apr. 2026
Two months later, Lamont defeated Lieberman in the primary, signaling to the world that opposition to the Bush administration’s war in Iraq was upending politics.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 11 Apr. 2026
Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Kenya is eyeing around $600 million in emergency funds from the World Bank in a bid to soften the impact of the Iran war, which is upending economies across the continent.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
More than two years after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Maryland — resulting in the deaths of six construction workers and upending a key route that thousands relied on daily — reconstruction has hit a snag.
—Mike Stunson, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
Citizen journalism was heralded as an opportunity for nonprofessionals to participate in the creation and selection of news content, upending journalists’ roles as gatekeepers.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026
Witherspoon has long been talking about artificial intelligence and encouraging her followers to become familiar with the technology, which is rapidly upending industries from Hollywood to tech.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
But the war that’s threatening global energy supplies, upending geopolitics, fomenting a food crisis and likely to curb global growth long after any ceasefire is the Iran war.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2026
That flow has since slowed to a trickle, upending supply chains for oil, fertilizers, apparel and industrial goods.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 13 Apr. 2026
Two months later, Lamont defeated Lieberman in the primary, signaling to the world that opposition to the Bush administration’s war in Iraq was upending politics.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 11 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upending
Verb
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In large part because the only feeling more satisfying than defeating your enemies is that of defeating your friends.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
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When the Lakers last came to Houston, defeating the Rockets twice in three days, Rockets coach Ime Udoka appeared to tell Redick to put Bronny James in the game.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Today’s battle may be over erecting a stop sign.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
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In a rare break from federally suspect gambling promotion, Drake has announced his return to music by erecting a giant ice sculpture in a Toronto car park.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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More Than One Way to Survive in Business Entrepreneurs have been positioned to accept that overcoming the competition is the only way to succeed in business, but there may be other paths forward.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
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The Blackbeard project aims to achieve all this while overcoming the obstacles that have hindered previous attempts at hypersonic weaponry.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Walker was also experiencing a mental health issue and was shot after raising a knife.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
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Several early tests failed, raising questions about the program’s future.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Across industries — creative, legal, financial, technical — the systems people like myself spent careers mastering are being rewritten.—
Matti Yahav,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
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Regardless of their final career path, every intern's first assignment is learning to be a docent, mastering the art of guiding visitors on a tour.—
La'Tasha Givens,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Harry and Meghan stepped back from their senior royal roles in 2020 due to media intrusion and racist coverage, eventually taking residence in Canada and, later, California, with their two children – Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Brown said Atlanta was taking away the Knicks’ spray game, which made the answer simpler.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Congratulations to 16-year-old Mathis Albert, who came on as a late substitute for Dortmund and became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga, beating Gio Reyna’s record.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Aside from beating the stuffing out of a life-sized penguin plushie, Gritty has mocked — and stalked — the team's fans.—
Kaitlyn McCormick,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The name Business Wire likely derives from the terms news wires or wire services, which recall the mid-19th-century method of dispatching news via telegraph, sending electrical signals via wire across great distances.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
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After dispatching her parents from Phoenix to inspect the property, the couple decided to go ahead with the purchase.—
Jonathan Bullington,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upending. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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