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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of made-up
Kevin Brazil, Harpers Magazine, 9 June 2026
The photos that flooded the internet amidst the Jenner-Levine hype featured Jenner in Paris (not her surgeon’s NYC office), professionally made-up, often wearing large sunglasses, and often filtered.
—Jolene Edgar, Allure, 17 Apr. 2026
During his interview, Newsom spoke about his ongoing and very public feud with Trump, who received the inaugural (and made-up) FIFA Peace Prize in December.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2026
Cook said his team detected a variety of age manipulation: synthetic fraud, in which real, stolen and made-up information is used to create a new identity; identity fraud; and document fraud.
—Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
That story was 100 percent insane and made-up, and not a word of it is true.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
Vietnam had an imaginary Gulf of Tonkin attack; Trump has made-up drug cartels.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
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
Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 18 June 2026
Up to 60% of the human brain is made up of lipids, or fats.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 18 June 2026
At the time of his resignation, the Reddit board was made up of one woman and four white men.
—Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
The game between the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants scheduled for Thursday night was postponed due to rain and will be made up in August.
—CBS News, 18 June 2026
While the room was compact in size, the plush, cloud-like double beds and iconic views more than made up for any lost space.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 June 2026
White liquor, which is used to break down wood into paper pulp, is made up of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate, authorities said.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 11 June 2026
The wind was chilly, but the sun made up for it.
—Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
And Teresa and Melissa have actually made up.
—Kate Aurthur, Variety, 11 June 2026
Adjective
Parts would be missing, or made-up.
—Kevin Brazil, Harpers Magazine, 9 June 2026
The photos that flooded the internet amidst the Jenner-Levine hype featured Jenner in Paris (not her surgeon’s NYC office), professionally made-up, often wearing large sunglasses, and often filtered.
—Jolene Edgar, Allure, 17 Apr. 2026
During his interview, Newsom spoke about his ongoing and very public feud with Trump, who received the inaugural (and made-up) FIFA Peace Prize in December.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2026
Cook said his team detected a variety of age manipulation: synthetic fraud, in which real, stolen and made-up information is used to create a new identity; identity fraud; and document fraud.
—Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
That story was 100 percent insane and made-up, and not a word of it is true.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
Vietnam had an imaginary Gulf of Tonkin attack; Trump has made-up drug cartels.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
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
Verb
Though the show's storyline is fictional, the revelation at its center isn't completely made up.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 18 June 2026
Up to 60% of the human brain is made up of lipids, or fats.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 18 June 2026
At the time of his resignation, the Reddit board was made up of one woman and four white men.
—Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
The game between the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants scheduled for Thursday night was postponed due to rain and will be made up in August.
—CBS News, 18 June 2026
While the room was compact in size, the plush, cloud-like double beds and iconic views more than made up for any lost space.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 June 2026
White liquor, which is used to break down wood into paper pulp, is made up of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate, authorities said.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 11 June 2026
The wind was chilly, but the sun made up for it.
—Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
And Teresa and Melissa have actually made up.
—Kate Aurthur, Variety, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
-
In 1811, The Nottingham Review newspaper recorded what's believed to be the first historical mention of the fictitious Ludd character, described as a framework knitting apprentice near Leicester.—
Emma Bowman,
NPR,
19 June 2026
-
Chen, who is currently being held on $100,000 bail in the Clark County Detention Center, has been charged with five felony counts of bigamy and two counts of intent to utter a fictitious bill/note/check, per FOX5.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Fallon’s entire audience at 30 Rockefeller Plaza’s Studio 6B will be comprised of die-hard Knicks fans who were unable to attend the NBA Finals in person.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
14 June 2026
-
The defending national champion Passion, comprised of 2025 AVP MVP Trevor Crabb and 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Phil Dalhausser, took on Miami’s six-time AVP Best Defender Taylor Crabb and 2024 Paris Olympian Andy Benesh.—
Ava DiCecca,
Sun Sentinel,
14 June 2026
Verb
-
Security firm Varonis devised an exploit chain that was able to catapult over these guardrails.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
16 June 2026
-
The researchers were Stanford psychologists carrying out an experiment on impulse control devised by Walter Mischel.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
The Spurs led for more minutes than the Knicks and built seemingly unconquerable leads.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
-
The Valkyries built a commanding lead behind 22 points from Janelle Salaün and 19 from Williams, then spent the fourth quarter watching Natisha Hiedeman – who finished with a game-high 26 – chip away at their advantage one bucket at a time.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
She was arrested last summer for yelling at imaginary people due to her psychiatric challenges, Murphy said.—
Jack Dura,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2026
-
But these images as well as those from other cultures are evidence of how deeply the dog is lodged in folk consciousness as an imaginary animal alter ego.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
According to the Air Force, the Interim Safety Board assigned to investigate the crash is tasked with collecting as much information as possible and then handing it over to a Safety Investigation Board, composed of experts, that will complete the inquiry.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
-
Alex Zhang Hungtai collages a bewildering array of acoustic, electric, ancient, and modern sounds on this noirish double album, improvised and composed over several years with an ad-hoc coterie that includes string and woodwind players, a noise musician, a Korean gong resonator, and a tap dancer.—
Hattie Lindert,
Pitchfork,
19 June 2026
Verb
-
In the one that opens the film, Forky (Tony Hale), the googly-eyed spork, marries a plastic knife called Karen Beverly (Melissa Villaseñor), a name so perfectly unmelodious that only a kid, or an adult exceptionally good at thinking like one, could have concocted it.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
Every detail is accurate, though the picture as a whole is an invention, concocted from multiple views, locations, and studies.—
Susan Tallman,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2026
Verb
-
Ferrari said the fire is complex because the building is a freezer constructed with insulated materials.—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
-
The seven-story office building, constructed to look exactly like a Longaberger Basket (just REALLY BIG), has been a novelty along Route 16, and now the current owners have put it on the market.—
David Morgan,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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