as in fictitious
not real and existing only in the imagination
the bogeyman was one of those made-up monsters whose sole purpose was to threaten children
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in comprised
to be all the substance of
the book is made up of 20 chapters
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in devised
to create or think of by clever use of the imagination
she keeps making up excuses as to why she hasn't yet finished the project
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in built
to form by putting together parts or materials
we'll have to make up the bookcase, which came in a box marked "some assembly required"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of made-up
Rachel Treisman, NPR, 19 Nov. 2025
And while OpenAI’s defenders could chalk that up to an isolated or even made-up incident, within 24 hours of the GPT-5 launch Altman was doing damage control, seemingly caught of guard by the bad reception.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Because a lot of things on reality TV are made-up situations and scenarios to provoke reactions and all of that stuff.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Something more insidious is at play with all of the half-baked or made-up statistics.
—Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 6 June 2025
The irony is that it is accepted that the tabloids found in the grocery store checkout aisle are often made-up or greatly exaggerated.
—Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
American agricultural products once made-up 40 percent of China's market; that amount has fallen below 20 percent.
—John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
Canons are as made-up as the stories that are part of them, so Dark Forces still has value as part of an old continuity that remains fun and quite wacky at times.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 7 Mar. 2025
According to Jackson, our completely made-up (but almost certainly accurate) mythology for the ABC sudser isn’t necessarily dead in the water.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 4 Mar. 2025
David Nikel, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
This archetype has been around as long as storytelling itself, but it’s actually made up of several highly differentiated sub-archetypes.
—Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
The second of three meetings of the CIF Southern Section Council — the Southern Section’s legislative body that is made up of league representatives — is Tuesday.
—Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 22 Jan. 2026
In the first quarter of 2024, Gen Z made up 18% of the workforce, according to the Department of Labor, but formed nearly 25% of all new hires in skilled trade work that year, according to Gusto.
—Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
Bow windows are made up of four or more windows joined in a gentle curve that extends beyond the exterior wall.
—Roxanne Downer, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
White victims made up about 26%, Hispanic victims accounted for 17%, and Asian and Pacific Islander victims represented about 6% of the total number of those who were killed.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Advanced chips of 7 nanometers or smaller made up more than three-quarters of wafer revenue, underscoring how central cutting-edge AI processors have become to TSMC’s business.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 15 Jan. 2026
At time time of his interview with FN, 64 percent chose the latter answer — but his audience is largely made up of the straight male audience typically associated with sneaker culture.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
And there's not one right way to do it, considering the holiday is made-up and the real thing is just around the corner.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 19 Nov. 2025
And while OpenAI’s defenders could chalk that up to an isolated or even made-up incident, within 24 hours of the GPT-5 launch Altman was doing damage control, seemingly caught of guard by the bad reception.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Because a lot of things on reality TV are made-up situations and scenarios to provoke reactions and all of that stuff.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Something more insidious is at play with all of the half-baked or made-up statistics.
—Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 6 June 2025
The irony is that it is accepted that the tabloids found in the grocery store checkout aisle are often made-up or greatly exaggerated.
—Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
American agricultural products once made-up 40 percent of China's market; that amount has fallen below 20 percent.
—John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
Canons are as made-up as the stories that are part of them, so Dark Forces still has value as part of an old continuity that remains fun and quite wacky at times.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 7 Mar. 2025
According to Jackson, our completely made-up (but almost certainly accurate) mythology for the ABC sudser isn’t necessarily dead in the water.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 4 Mar. 2025
Verb
German travelers made up the largest group in 2025, with approximately 753,000 passengers, followed by British passengers at 337,000 and Americans at 185,000.
—David Nikel, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
This archetype has been around as long as storytelling itself, but it’s actually made up of several highly differentiated sub-archetypes.
—Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
The second of three meetings of the CIF Southern Section Council — the Southern Section’s legislative body that is made up of league representatives — is Tuesday.
—Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 22 Jan. 2026
In the first quarter of 2024, Gen Z made up 18% of the workforce, according to the Department of Labor, but formed nearly 25% of all new hires in skilled trade work that year, according to Gusto.
—Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
Bow windows are made up of four or more windows joined in a gentle curve that extends beyond the exterior wall.
—Roxanne Downer, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
White victims made up about 26%, Hispanic victims accounted for 17%, and Asian and Pacific Islander victims represented about 6% of the total number of those who were killed.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Advanced chips of 7 nanometers or smaller made up more than three-quarters of wafer revenue, underscoring how central cutting-edge AI processors have become to TSMC’s business.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 15 Jan. 2026
At time time of his interview with FN, 64 percent chose the latter answer — but his audience is largely made up of the straight male audience typically associated with sneaker culture.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
-
The state has lost track of roughly 30,000 children believed to be receiving vouchers, but the state already knows that some fraudulent organizations created fictitious students and claimed vouchers in their name.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The film opens with an introduction to Ministry of Not Forgetting, a fictitious research facility where Tilda Swinton and George MacKay are seen opening an inquiry into Faithfull’s life and career.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The teams comprised veteran baseball stars from both nations.—
Vivian Salama,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
-
The leather shoes comprised a mix of male boots, children’s and women’s shoes.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
New uses are continually being devised.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
With no worthy opponents left, Baki and the underground fighters grow restless — until a plan is devised to resurrect Miyamoto Musashi, Japan’s greatest swordsman.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Rose limited Hernandez to just three shots and four points in the first half as the Tritons built a 32-29 halftime lead.—
Dan Arritt,
Oc Register,
25 Jan. 2026
-
An external receiver, potentially built into a wearable device, detects the signal from up to two feet away.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
An imaginary line drawn through the stars Bellatrix in Orion and Alnitak (the lowest star in Orion's Belt), extended about twice its own length, also leads to Murzam.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
And there are no effects, there are no imaginary monsters.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, composed of 30 stocks, has a history of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all three – the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Trustees also agreed to form a closed-session subcommittee composed of the four board members present, excluding Becerra from participating.—
Mona Darwish,
Oc Register,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Prosecutors say Brendan Banfield concocted an elaborate scheme to kill his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, Joseph Ryan, in their family home in February 2023.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
-
But for his first contribution to the network in 2026, The Beauty, he and co-creator Matthew Hodgson have concocted a genre-hopping oddity that sounds even less likely to work.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The trend carried on into the second quarter, as sophomore Will Palmer drilled a three-pointer with five minutes to play in the half as the Skippers constructed a 30-20 lead.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The Orion capsules built for the Artemis missions abandoned the Avcoat honeycomb structure in favor of a heat shield constructed using large blocks of the material.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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