Synonyms of invent

invent

verb

in-ˈvent 

as in to devise

to create or think of by clever use of the imagination

they invented an explanation for the broken vase that would satisfy their grandmother

Synonyms & Similar Words

• devise
• concoct
• construct
• manufacture
• design
• produce
• contrive
• come up with
• think (up)
• fabricate
• drum up
• make up
• cook (up)
• excogitate
• conceive
• envision
• imagine
• hatch
• trump up
• improvise
• vamp (up)
• visualize
• dream
• envisage
• fantasize
• vision
• daydream
• coin
• extemporize
• ad-lib
• picture

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• imitate
• reproduce
• replicate
• mimic
• copy
• duplicate
• clone
• reduplicate
• copycat

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of invent

Having never been exposed to pictures, the children invented their own visual vocabulary. — Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Although Adolph Sax invented the saxophone in the mid-1800s as a classical instrument, most people associate it with jazz. — Beth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026

Whether inventing the Bong-a-Tron or freeing themselves after hours trapped inside a Party City parking lot, these misadventures almost always hinge on weed. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2026

If that day comes, Blackwell expects Usha to follow Barbara Bush’s playbook rather than invent her own. — Kate Andersen Brower, Vanity Fair, 12 Aug. 2026