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
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
Residents are asking a judge to halt the project and have taken the city to court as, through the Advisory Council for Legal and Ethical Oversight, a group made up of West Natomas residents.
—Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 3 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
The Saja Boys, a boy band made up of demons, attempt to disrupt that mission.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2026
My district is made up of fighters.
—Lauren Peller, ABC News, 26 Mar. 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
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
Residents are asking a judge to halt the project and have taken the city to court as, through the Advisory Council for Legal and Ethical Oversight, a group made up of West Natomas residents.
—Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 3 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
The Saja Boys, a boy band made up of demons, attempt to disrupt that mission.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2026
My district is made up of fighters.
—Lauren Peller, ABC News, 26 Mar. 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
-
Islam kissed the ethnically and religiously diverse Arab lands and devised an inclusive and innovative formula.—
Doris Bittar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
-
This byzantine corporate structure apparently did not exist until Altman devised it.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 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
-
In the seventeen-seventies, Gervasio composed six duets dedicated to his student the Princess of Prussia.—
Tim Parks,
New Yorker,
11 Apr. 2026
-
In what amounts to a home run for baseball fans in this state and region, Monfort has agreed to sell a 40 % minority stake in the Rockies to the Penner Sports Group, composed of Broncos’ co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
After moving his family from Michigan to South Texas in 1905, John Anderson Adams concocted the popular vanilla flavoring product.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Time to grow up and reject belief systems concocted before the invention of clocks and toilet paper.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
It’s all constructed in a way that makes the tone feel somewhat sad, informed by some of the missions of these characters.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Jackson County could soon take steps aimed to ensure new data centers are not constructed in unincorporated areas of the county, at least temporarily.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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