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
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
Kessler said much the same Thursday, telling ARTnews that the school is disproprotionately affected by attacks and restrictions on international students, which made up 40 percent of the student body in 2023, according to a New York Times analysis.
—Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 4 June 2026
The jury, made up of 11 women and 7 men, was seated as Anthony's parents and Metcalf's parents sat on opposite sides of the courtroom.
—Cbs Texas Staff, CBS News, 4 June 2026
High-ticket, $100 million-plus deals made up 26% of retail investment from the first quarter of 2025 through the first quarter of 2026, compared with just 13% in 2023.
—Diana Olick, CNBC, 4 June 2026
La Voz Favorita, out Thursday, is made up of a staggering 24 tracks, where Wheeler revisits his roots while pushing urbano forward.
—Lucas Villa, Rolling Stone, 28 May 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
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
Kessler said much the same Thursday, telling ARTnews that the school is disproprotionately affected by attacks and restrictions on international students, which made up 40 percent of the student body in 2023, according to a New York Times analysis.
—Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 4 June 2026
The jury, made up of 11 women and 7 men, was seated as Anthony's parents and Metcalf's parents sat on opposite sides of the courtroom.
—Cbs Texas Staff, CBS News, 4 June 2026
High-ticket, $100 million-plus deals made up 26% of retail investment from the first quarter of 2025 through the first quarter of 2026, compared with just 13% in 2023.
—Diana Olick, CNBC, 4 June 2026
La Voz Favorita, out Thursday, is made up of a staggering 24 tracks, where Wheeler revisits his roots while pushing urbano forward.
—Lucas Villa, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
-
However, operators often hide behind fictitious or stolen identities and fail to comply with cease-and-desist letters; meanwhile, hosting servers are often untraceable, shielded by anonymization techniques or by being located in countries where legal enforcement is extremely difficult.—
Emma Woollacott,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
-
He is charged with one count of unlawful voting by aliens and one count of the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under state law.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The group is comprised of representatives from more than 85 organizations.—
Pioneer Press,
Twin Cities,
7 June 2026
-
The impact with Bell’s Camry severely deformed the SAFER barrier, which is comprised of steel and foam to absorb energy in wrecks.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
In this case, the team devised a way to directly merge the mechanophores as cross-links into common polymers.—
Shirl Leigh
June 10,
New Atlas,
10 June 2026
-
The team’s Mediterranean Programme was devised in response to the exponential risk of extinction to the sea’s nearly 80 species of shark and ray.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 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
-
Once composed of 50,000 personnel, KFOR has been routinely scaled back over the years as tensions eased, although 1,000 additional troops were deployed there in 2023, after fresh violence erupted.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
-
They’re also composed of a quark and an antiquark.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Investigators believed Simko met one of the suspects at a cannabis festival in Ann Arbor, where the suspects reportedly concocted a plan to set up a fake business deal and steal what officials said was upwards of 50 pounds of marijuana.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
-
Blanche, his former personal lawyer, concocted it in staggering disregard of legal ethics.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Over the next several years, Hartman built up a cattle herd, dug an irrigation ditch, established a dairy and constructed a fish hatchery.—
Kevin Strong,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
-
Canadarm2 helped build the ISS and supports station activities, and Canadarm3 is a next-generation arm being constructed to support the Artemis program, which saw CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen fly around the moon on Artemis 2 in April.—
Elizabeth Howell,
Space.com,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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