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
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
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
Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the company said advanced chips, defined as 7-nanometer or smaller, made up about 74% of TSMC's total wafer revenue in the quarter.
—Dylan Butts, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026
Reservations are recommended and can be made up to three months in advance.
—Ellie Nan Storck, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2026
Espinoza testified that Horner made up an alter ego for himself called Zero and claimed Zero was responsible for the killing.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
Third Act is a national organization made up of volunteers over the age of 60.
—Denise St. Pierre, Sun Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2026
Most of my book clubs are made up of women somewhere between the ages of 45 and 99.
—Amy Silverberg, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
Many of the languages that are made up for television and books are just gibberish.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Five years ago no home in Miami sold for $50 million, but in 2025, sales in this range made up 7% of the market, the Times reported.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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
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
Verb
Adults oversee the team, but it's made up of 90 youg people who are volunteers.
—Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the company said advanced chips, defined as 7-nanometer or smaller, made up about 74% of TSMC's total wafer revenue in the quarter.
—Dylan Butts, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026
Reservations are recommended and can be made up to three months in advance.
—Ellie Nan Storck, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2026
Espinoza testified that Horner made up an alter ego for himself called Zero and claimed Zero was responsible for the killing.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
Third Act is a national organization made up of volunteers over the age of 60.
—Denise St. Pierre, Sun Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2026
Most of my book clubs are made up of women somewhere between the ages of 45 and 99.
—Amy Silverberg, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
Many of the languages that are made up for television and books are just gibberish.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Five years ago no home in Miami sold for $50 million, but in 2025, sales in this range made up 7% of the market, the Times reported.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
-
Investigators allege Gonzalez wrote checks to herself from HOA accounts over an extended period and concealed the thefts by creating fictitious invoices and false ledger entries.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
One requires election records to be maintained for 22 months, while the other prohibits procuring, casting or tabulating false, fictitious or fraudulent ballots.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The group, comprised by series stars and real-life musicians William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jeremy Yun, Zendé Murdock, and Jesse Golliher, is on tour through the end of June.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The small and exceptionally passionate team that FRONT comprised approached its first edition in the same way.—
Michelle Grabner,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Yes, a new model was devised that showed how a modern economy could sustain a large middle-class society that shared in its general prosperity and great progress.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Deep listening is a practice devised by composer Pauline Oliveros.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Copilot, built into the taskbar, adds an AI layer to the OS.—
StackCommerce Team,
PC Magazine,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Humanity has never built an outpost on a world beyond Earth before, after all, so achieving that grand vision will be a heavy lift.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And so the super, super devoted fans really do know each other and really are jockeying with each other for position in a way that feels both real and imaginary.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Apr. 2026
-
No borders and a thin blue line Viewing the Earth from space, White highlights, drives home that the borders that mark our maps are largely imaginary.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The perfect watering schedule depends on the time of year, your local climate, and the types of grass and soil your lawn is composed of.—
Nishaa Sharma,
The Spruce,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Historically, this committee has been composed of experts in all aspects of vaccination, from development through clinical trials of safety and effectiveness, to the impact of vaccines on disease prevention.—
Professor David R. Hill,
Hartford Courant,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Fortunately, Sanctions balances its downer tendencies with moments of levity and peculiar arrangements that only Souled American could have concocted.—
Zach Schonfeld,
Pitchfork,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Now Jasmine is in the middle of the second fight she’s concocted out of nowhere in one episode.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Pain is ultimately constructed by the brain, and one of the best pieces of evidence neuroscience has for that is phantom limb pain.—
Brianne Kane,
Scientific American,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The gap shows up clearly in how the CPI is constructed.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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