Definition of "trumped-up" [trumped-up]

• Fraudulently devised; fabricated: trumped-up criminal charges. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The mother of a prominent Egyptian blogger has gone on a hunger strike until her son is released from jail after his arrest on what human rights groups call trumped-up charges to silence critics of the nation's ruling military council."
• "Six months ago, an Iranian appeals court reduced the jail sentences of the seven leaders of Iran's Bahai community to 10 years from 20 years, after they were convicted in August on a series of trumped-up charges."
• "Chen Guangcheng, a blind legal activist, has been held captive in his own home, along with his wife and child, since being released last September from the prison where he had been held for four years and three months on trumped-up charges."