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
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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
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
Each year, a jury made up of Netflix execs and invited guests selects one Brazilian fiction film from the festival that hasn’t yet landed a streaming deal.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
That means that, of those moving to Colorado, millennials made up the largest percentage when compared to other states.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 27 Sep. 2025
People adjusted their pava hats and clip-on flor de maga flowers, Puerto Rican symbols that made up the evening’s implicit dress code.
—Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2025
In that year, transportation made up about 17% of total expenditures.
—Ana Teresa Solá, CNBC, 20 Sep. 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
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
Each year, a jury made up of Netflix execs and invited guests selects one Brazilian fiction film from the festival that hasn’t yet landed a streaming deal.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
That means that, of those moving to Colorado, millennials made up the largest percentage when compared to other states.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 27 Sep. 2025
People adjusted their pava hats and clip-on flor de maga flowers, Puerto Rican symbols that made up the evening’s implicit dress code.
—Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2025
In that year, transportation made up about 17% of total expenditures.
—Ana Teresa Solá, CNBC, 20 Sep. 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
-
An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The planning application comprised 3,000 pages of documents in 60 boxes.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
While enjoying drinks at Lucy’s across the street from Paramount Studios, William Wyler, Humphrey Bogart, John Huston and Lauren Bacall devised a hasty plan to show up in Washington to protest the hearings.—
Chris Yogerst,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Oct. 2025
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Performance on tests devised by seasoned professionals across banking, law, and consulting has nearly doubled in little more than a year, according to a preliminary study published in late September by data firm, Mercor.—
Harry Booth,
Time,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
From there, Milwaukee’s perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate would then need to find his way off the bench in a scheme built primarily to their strengths.—
Eric Nehm,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Trust built through creativity compounds.—
Erik Huberman,
Rolling Stone,
10 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
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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
-
Just like last season, the D crew for this Leafs’ team is composed almost entirely of players who defend and defend hard, but who aren’t going to move things along much the other way.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Moreover, Saturn’s highly reflective and easily-visible rings, composed mostly of water-ice and arguably the planet’s most striking feature, are actively in the process of disappearing.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Prosecutors described Sanaa Cunningham’s death as the result of a murder plot concocted by her father and stepmother, Germayne and Lisa Cunningham, following months of abuse and neglect.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Typical for Jenkin, Rose of Nevada was shot on 16mm cameras using a wind-up Bolex with all sound constructed in post-production, with Jenkin acting as writer, director, cinematographer, and editor.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son (1969) followed, a nearly two-hour meditation constructed from a single clip of a silent 1905 Billy Bitzer film of the same name, variously slowed down, speeded up, and looped.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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