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
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
Kristin Wright, NPR, 25 Oct. 2025
The pool is made up of 60% of gate receipts from each of those games.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 25 Oct. 2025
The Overland Park City Council is made up of the mayor and 12 members, with two members representing six wards.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
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
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
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
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
According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the hurricane is likely to bring life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides to parts of Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, which is made up of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
—Kristin Wright, NPR, 25 Oct. 2025
The pool is made up of 60% of gate receipts from each of those games.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 25 Oct. 2025
The Overland Park City Council is made up of the mayor and 12 members, with two members representing six wards.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
-
Of course, close animal encounters aren't always fictitious.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The Half Moon Bay weigh-off began in 1974, when the California town barely edged out Circleville, Ohio, in an amiable contest for the fictitious title of pumpkin capital of the world.—
Jennifer Borresen,
USA Today,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Those virtual hangouts comprised breakfast, lunch, and walks.—
Essence,
Essence,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The latter comprised Copenhagen Fashion Week’s chief executive officer Cecilie Thorsmark; Mulberry CEO Andrea Baldo; Tekla CEO Kristoffer Juhl; Ganni cofounder Nicolaj Reffstrup, and Rikke Amtorp, head of brand and creative at Magasin du Nord, to cite a few.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Riffmade founders Stephanie Betesh and Nicholas Steigmann devised a whole line of furnishings with this idea in mind, starting with a desk that can be covered up when the work day is over.—
Lori Keong,
Architectural Digest,
30 Oct. 2025
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The British military historian John Keegan revealed the hazards of this kind of planning in his anatomy of the Schlieffen Plan, the German strategy for fighting a two-front continental war that was devised, in 1905, by the chief of the army’s general staff, Alfred von Schlieffen.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
There’s something rare about Swain, who is a young brainiac, but one who has built his business the old-fashioned, pre-quant-trading and Excel models Wall Street way, via charm offensives that weave webs of tight relationships few rivals can match.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
-
And while some rentals in the area offer on-site care at fluctuating market rates, as a Continuing Care Retirement Community, The Vi provides compassionate care at a more predictable cost, since those rates are built into a resident’s monthly fees.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In those meetings, our would-be bosses told us to make mock phone calls to prospective clients to gauge our ability to convince strangers about the merit of an imaginary product.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Each one was built by a Ramona family, less to keep away any errant birds from imaginary crops at the Grange parking lot, but more to celebrate fall and enjoy a family collaboration.—
Regina Elling,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
At the time, Kardashian laughed it off while Schumer jokingly composed herself.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The two have formed FulFive, a new entity composed of Winston’s Fulwell Entertainment and Givens’ FiveCurrents, which will produce the ceremonies.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Even so, del Toro has not merely concocted another Whale of a tale.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Each district sends two children as tributes to the fight-to-the-death Hunger Games, concocted by the capitol to keep the populace distracted.—
Adam Bell,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Both are constructed using a mix of cotton and fleece, showcase a similar blue color, and are on sale for only $32 as a pair.—
Izzy Baskette,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
-
With that goal in mind, Dijkstra has constructed a scheme to ensure that King Radovid stops drinking and sulking over Jaskier and embraces his role as one of the few remaining leaders who can oppose Emhyr’s army.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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