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
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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"
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of made-up
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
To answer these questions, a group of 15 participants made-up of university students, recent graduates, and young adults, played the four online games mentioned—Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2, and Fortnite.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 16 Jan. 2025
Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 18 Oct. 2025
The ticket is made up of all incumbents, including Mary Anne Will, current board president Emily Mason and current vice president Michael Wilson.
—Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 Oct. 2025
More than 100 films made up the competition this edition.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 18 Oct. 2025
The Olathe Public Schools Board of Education is made up of seven members, representing three districts.
—Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2025
Benbrook was able to recapture the lead on an 8-yard quick slant to receiver Dorien Johnson and made up for the first-quarter blunder with a successful 2-point conversion.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Oct. 2025
Parlays made up 56% of sports betting revenue in Illinois, New Jersey, and Colorado in 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2025
Rare earths include 17 metallic elements in the periodic table made up of scandium, yttrium and the lanthanides.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025
It is made up of about 25,000 people about 70 miles west of Nashville.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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
To answer these questions, a group of 15 participants made-up of university students, recent graduates, and young adults, played the four online games mentioned—Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2, and Fortnite.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
The club’s hallmark was its discretion, and what went on in the labyrinth of rooms that made up the basement club was never repeated in the outside world.
—Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 18 Oct. 2025
The ticket is made up of all incumbents, including Mary Anne Will, current board president Emily Mason and current vice president Michael Wilson.
—Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 Oct. 2025
More than 100 films made up the competition this edition.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 18 Oct. 2025
The Olathe Public Schools Board of Education is made up of seven members, representing three districts.
—Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2025
Benbrook was able to recapture the lead on an 8-yard quick slant to receiver Dorien Johnson and made up for the first-quarter blunder with a successful 2-point conversion.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Oct. 2025
Parlays made up 56% of sports betting revenue in Illinois, New Jersey, and Colorado in 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2025
Rare earths include 17 metallic elements in the periodic table made up of scandium, yttrium and the lanthanides.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025
It is made up of about 25,000 people about 70 miles west of Nashville.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
-
Nicolas Cage was rumored to be interested in playing Charlie and his fictitious twin, Donald.—
Susan Orlean,
New Yorker,
11 Oct. 2025
-
However fictitious, these uplifting moments are currently missing from our real-life news cycle.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The setlist mainly comprised songs from Brown Sugar and Voodoo, with a few new tracks scattered in as well.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
-
But what if, rather than a trickle of tech, the fountainhead itself comprised the car—a street-legal, limited-production Formula 1 model?—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The most visible plans are those devised by the same international custodians who have engineered postwar order elsewhere in the Middle East.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
-
That is, unless faster methods are devised than today’s chemical rockets.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Van Edwards, who has built her career on translating behavioral science into practical communication strategies, developed her first framework about 12 years ago and has taught hundreds of thousands of students through her courses and books.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Equipped with dual Intel RealSense depth cameras, a 6-axis IMU and a modular software development kit with Python support, the 121-lb robot is built to push the boundaries of embodied AI and motion research.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Now draw an imaginary line diagonally through the Dipper's bowl from Dubhe (the upper right star in the bowl) down through Phecda (the lower left star in the bowl) and extend that line downward about twice the distance between those two stars and that will bring you to the vicinity of Cor Caroli.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
8 Oct. 2025
-
While their mother is not in the picture, Judy seeks guidance from her boss, Alyson (Megan Mullally), and her imaginary friend, Alanis Morissette (voicing herself), who appears to her in the Northern Lights.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Instead of a membrane-like surface seen on other bugs, the leg organ is composed of a waxy covering dotted with several thousand pores connected to porous glands.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Gauss noted that this fall’s cohort is composed of seven teacher-candidates, those with bachelor’s degrees who lack a teaching credential, along with four or five current teachers seeking to add to their existing credential.—
Larry D. Urish,
Oc Register,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Dan concocted a farmhouse ale made with 1850s roots.—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Maybe the purposefully ambiguous coda was concocted to prove some sort of Rashomon-style truth-is-subjective point.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The tall design is constructed of Italian suede and leather that’s been made water-resistant and jazzed up with buckles at the calf, to secure the comfy and warm shearling interior.—
Gretta Monahan,
Boston Herald,
16 Oct. 2025
-
The building was constructed in 1910, and the apartment’s most recent tenant, who moved out in 2022, had lived there for forty years.—
Naaman Zhou,
New Yorker,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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