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
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
John Wawrow, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2026
The game will be made up on Thursday as part of a split doubleheader.
—Laura Fay, CBS News, 29 Apr. 2026
The guidelines were approved last year by a controversial German church governing body made up of the German bishops’ conference and a Catholic lay group that has been working to have a greater say in church decision-making.
—Nicole Winfield, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
To start, there’s downtown’s Boon Hotel + Spa, an adults-only boutique made up of 14 guest rooms, three luxury tents, and a vintage camper, plus the titular on-site spa.
—Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 23 Apr. 2026
Very typical of the better Orange County public-school baseball teams, the Orange roster is made up of players who have experienced ups and downs as teammates for a long time.
—Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026
Dreamy beds are made up with covetable Rivolta Carmignani linens.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 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
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
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
After a five-month, 120-game regular season featuring record crowds, women’s hockey enjoying a significant post-Olympic boost and with more expansion on the horizon, the Walter Cup playoff semifinalists are made up exclusively of the league’s old guard.
—John Wawrow, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2026
The game will be made up on Thursday as part of a split doubleheader.
—Laura Fay, CBS News, 29 Apr. 2026
The guidelines were approved last year by a controversial German church governing body made up of the German bishops’ conference and a Catholic lay group that has been working to have a greater say in church decision-making.
—Nicole Winfield, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
To start, there’s downtown’s Boon Hotel + Spa, an adults-only boutique made up of 14 guest rooms, three luxury tents, and a vintage camper, plus the titular on-site spa.
—Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 23 Apr. 2026
Very typical of the better Orange County public-school baseball teams, the Orange roster is made up of players who have experienced ups and downs as teammates for a long time.
—Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026
Dreamy beds are made up with covetable Rivolta Carmignani linens.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
-
First, Jones submitted fraudulent expense reimbursement requests for fictitious business expenses.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Investigators say the monthly payroll expenses and the number of employees were fictitious and that the documents used to support the monthly income for the companies were false.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Great Divide had healthy physical sales, around 175,000; however, streaming led the Vermont native’s ascent to the top — streaming units comprised 212,000 of the total 389,000 first week equivalent album units.—
Nicole Fell,
HollywoodReporter,
3 May 2026
-
Fort Worth bond package Fort Worth citizens will have their say on an $845 million bond package comprised of six separate propositions aimed at funding a wide range of infrastructure and community projects.—
Steven Rosenbaum,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Sometimes acronyms are purposely devised to reinforce a message.—
Clarissa Brincat,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
-
In a statement released earlier this month, company officials claimed the engine was devised in response to rising costs in general aviation.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cove Gardens, where my family lived, was a sprawling red brick rental complex built after the war for the light-industrial, service, and clerical workers who were saving up for their own houses in a better area.—
Chang-rae Lee,
New Yorker,
3 May 2026
-
Each bag is slightly different, all of them built to last, and the result is a bag equally at home on a boat, a beach, or a farmers’ market.—
Amanda Eyre Ward,
Travel + Leisure,
2 May 2026
Adjective
-
Footnotes and excerpts from imaginary texts add to the story’s worldbuilding and its charm.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
-
The takeaway isn’t that morning anxiety is imaginary.—
Allison Palmer,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Phillips warns of selecting containers that are composed entirely of non-recycled plastics or those with a high-carbon footprint.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
1 May 2026
-
Interiors are intentionally light-filled and thoughtfully composed, allowing the natural beauty of the surroundings to lead.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Whether guiding the sound and aesthetic of the Wu-Tang Clan or scoring films for Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino, RZA has concocted an aural blueprint all his own.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
-
The tank weighing down the back of Kyle Nicolson’s truck holds a mixture of water, nutrients and fertilizer concocted through years of tinkering, first by his grandfather, then his dad, his uncle and his cousins.—
Jonathan Bullington,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The intensive, weeklong building sessions named after former President Jimmy Carter and his late wife Rosalynn have constructed roughly 5,000 homes in 14 countries since 1984.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
-
The team constructed by former Nuggets executive Tim Connelly has ended its season twice in the last three years.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
