: fraudulently concocted : spurious
trumped-up charges

Examples of trumped-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The charge was clearly trumped-up, but Yundi was immediately taken off all Chinese stages and media and prevented from going abroad. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023 Erdogan’s government has thrown (or attempted to throw) a number of key political opponents into jail on what critics say are trumped-up, spurious charges. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 10 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trumped-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1728, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of trumped-up was in 1728

Dictionary Entries Near trumped-up

Cite this Entry

“Trumped-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trumped-up. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

trumped-up

adjective
ˈtrəm(p)-ˈtəp
: made-up sense 1, false
arrested on trumped-up charges

More from Merriam-Webster on trumped-up

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