1
as in to defeat
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 to erect
to fix in an upright position
we had to upend the sofa in order to fit it into the elevator
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of upend
Half a world away, in the United States, political life, as expressed on college campuses, in street protests, and at the ballot box, would be upended and reordered in ways that will reverberate for years to come.
—
Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2025
What initially seemed like a fluke has turned into a near-daily crisis, upending life for residents on every floor.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
Through single-cell RNA sequencing, the team indeed saw that glioblastoma upended the skull bone marrow's environment – filling it with pro-inflammatory neutrophils while decimating cancer-fighting antibody-producing B cells.
—New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025
The first Dutch original film on Disney+, The Balloonist shows what happens when young chicken farmer Gaby's predictable life is upended by a hot air balloon crashing into her coop.
—PC Magazine, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upend
Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2025
What initially seemed like a fluke has turned into a near-daily crisis, upending life for residents on every floor.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
Through single-cell RNA sequencing, the team indeed saw that glioblastoma upended the skull bone marrow's environment – filling it with pro-inflammatory neutrophils while decimating cancer-fighting antibody-producing B cells.
—New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025
The first Dutch original film on Disney+, The Balloonist shows what happens when young chicken farmer Gaby's predictable life is upended by a hot air balloon crashing into her coop.
—PC Magazine, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upend
Verb
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The Las Vegas Aces defeat the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 to win the championship.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Oct. 2025
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Summit was 4-1 overall and 3-0 in district play and had won four straight, defeating Mansfield, Burleson, Grapevine and The Colony heading into the game.—
Jordan Neal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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While stadiums and luxury hotels are erected, hospitals remain overcrowded and rural areas underserved.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
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The group was later able to recover the statue — with the figures ripped from their pedestals and broken into pieces — and set about trying to re-erect it.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Rough Riders overcame a furious Arlington Heights rally in the third quarter and used a late goal-line stand to shock the Yellow Jackets in a 50-47 thriller.—
Updated October 10,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Oct. 2025
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Johnson’s familiarity is key to bringing audiences close to Kerr and helps the film overcome its potentially alienating storyline.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In November, Jackson terminated Gatlin for swindling millions of dollars from the Foundation as executives privately reeled over her betrayal of the hospital system’s fundraising arm, which raises tens of millions to benefit Jackson’s patients.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
12 Oct. 2025
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Experts at Sweetbriar said the effort was not just about saving one insect but also about raising awareness.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Not all of us have the time to master electrical wiring or the budget to hire a Taskrabbit.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
8 Oct. 2025
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My protagonist feels similarly sheepish about her inability to master another language.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Burns took them from a housing project to the C-suite, then used that platform to demand better for everyone coming after her.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
9 Oct. 2025
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Getting the balance right does take skilful execution.—
Adam Gale,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Plus, the buttery-soft Nulu fabric truly cannot be beat, whether you’re headed to yoga or gearing up for a long-haul flight.—
Melony Forcier,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Oct. 2025
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In May 2025, an independent investigation found that African Parks rangers had raped, beat and tortured indigenous people.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For 30 years, the solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians was thought to be the Oslo Accords, the 1993 agreements meant to produce a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza, territory that Israel had conquered in 1967 and militarily occupied since.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
11 Oct. 2025
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Good versus evil and darkness versus light, and good must conquer evil.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Upend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upend. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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