as in fictitious
not real and existing only in the imagination
a daydreamer who lives mostly in her invented magic kingdom
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in devised
to create or think of by clever use of the imagination
they invented an explanation for the broken vase that would satisfy their grandmother
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of invented
Chicago Tribune, 11 Jan. 2026
The Black Manhattan does not follow this rule, because when Todd Smith thought up the cocktail in 2005, the rule hadn’t been invented yet.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 10 Jan. 2026
Those are not our gestures; those were invented by these wonderful actors.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 9 Jan. 2026
In the mid-20th century, egg coffee was invented as a creative way to bypass milk shortages of the time.
—Arundhati Hazra, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 2026
Since the arrival of the vaccine you co-invented, as well as another two years later, those rates have plummeted.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
The notion to force a team’s non-stars to win games wasn’t invented in Phoenix this week.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
The wave machine someone invented to simulate the oceans of Pandora risks crushing the actors to death under eight pounds of steel?
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
Putnam raised the example of how, during the previous upswing, organizations like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were invented just a few years apart, because people recognized that young people needed mentors.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
That argument was invented for the op-ed, not by the researchers actually running the pilot.
—Chicago Tribune, 11 Jan. 2026
The Black Manhattan does not follow this rule, because when Todd Smith thought up the cocktail in 2005, the rule hadn’t been invented yet.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 10 Jan. 2026
Those are not our gestures; those were invented by these wonderful actors.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 9 Jan. 2026
In the mid-20th century, egg coffee was invented as a creative way to bypass milk shortages of the time.
—Arundhati Hazra, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 2026
Since the arrival of the vaccine you co-invented, as well as another two years later, those rates have plummeted.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
The notion to force a team’s non-stars to win games wasn’t invented in Phoenix this week.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
The wave machine someone invented to simulate the oceans of Pandora risks crushing the actors to death under eight pounds of steel?
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
Putnam raised the example of how, during the previous upswing, organizations like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were invented just a few years apart, because people recognized that young people needed mentors.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invented
Adjective
-
Anyone who’s survived to 2026 knows the upper class’ fictitious fantasies still carry real, wretched consequences for the rest of us, but Season 4 plays out those ongoing scenarios to the nth degree, while condensing them into an appreciable narrative arc.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
11 Jan. 2026
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The series, which premiered on Netflix at the end of 2024, tells the story of the Buendía family over multiple generations and is set in the fictitious town of Macondo, Colombia, which the family founded.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In the 19th century, the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace devised his own theory of evolution, independent of Charles Darwin, while visiting the region to research his book, The Malay Archipelago.—
Gisela Williams,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Jan. 2026
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And to that end, the Islamic Republic may have devised a failsafe for itself against popular anger.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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As the voice of Rumi, Ejae performed the lead vocals of all the songs for HUNTR/X, the movie's fictional k-pop girl group that moonlights as demon hunters who protect the world from soul-sucking monsters.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Jan. 2026
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In the fictional story of the Shakespeare family, their family tragedy leads Shakespeare to write Hamlet.—
Yamillah Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In exchange for not being charged with a DUI, the family’s lawyer concocted a deal in which Skakel was sent to the controversial Élan School in Maine in an effort to correct his unruly behavior.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
7 Dec. 2025
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Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report concocted this trade idea that sees the Lakers land and shore up both their frontcourt and backcourt, the Dallas Mavericks duo of former All-Star Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford.—
Ricardo Sandoval,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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As players shoot around, Jake cradles a ball before blowing past an imaginary defender to hammer home a dunk.—
Mirin Fader,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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At the opening, Natalie, bored and filled with loathing for her parents, flees her family home by retreating into imaginary worlds of vivid, eroticized violence.—
Erin Somers,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The wide-leg pants in this matching set are high-waisted with an elastic drawstring waistband for comfort, and are constructed with two side pockets for storage.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Gothic architecture, on the other hand, focused on height and light; despite being constructed from heavy stone, Gothic cathedrals seem to defy the laws of gravity.—
Stefanie Waldek,
Architectural Digest,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Taken together, the books on this list show narrators real and imagined grappling with some of life’s greatest challenges, and nevertheless surviving—as timely and valuable a message as readers can ask for.—
Lucy Feldman,
Time,
9 Dec. 2025
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Prompted by Einstein, the noncompliant witnesses in the 1950s reshaped the public discussion, refocusing the conversation on the importance of freedom of expression rather than the fears of imagined communist infiltration.—
Jodie Childers,
The Conversation,
20 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The repetition of that mythic version has buttressed the belief that the fight for American independence was an event somehow separate from world history.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
That was a really great mythic take.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Invented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/invented. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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