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
-
More than 50 years passed before Kansas City artist and sculptor Dale Eldred in 1990 devised a workable design.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Ultimately, the researchers believe the hottest engine ever devised will help the scientific community better understand thermodynamics.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
McVay’s offense was both explosive and productive, and NFL owners quickly saw that using so many three-receiver sets benefited the executives who built their teams.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
In front of us lay quite a few small-to-mid-capacity engines being built, but there was one that all journos ooh-ed and aaah-ed over.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Of course, specific local conditions vary on either side of that imaginary line.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
17 Oct. 2025
-
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
Verb
-
The roster will be primarily composed of pop and dance music, with a physical and digital distribution agreement in place with The Orchard.—
Thania Garcia,
Variety,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Schools overseen by the DoDEA, such as Barsanti Elementary, are composed of students in American military families.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In the new Indonesian horror flick The Elixir, a new herbal potion concocted by a traditional medicine doctor accidentally wakes the dead, and now all Hell is breaking loose.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Unlike a harmless delusion, this is something that is concocted with an arc in mind, like Stacey’s relationship with TJ, Kenya Moore’s relationship with Walter Jackson her first season on RHOA, and Drew Sidora’s maybe-relationship with Dennis McKinley on this most recent season.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The sweater is constructed using mink wool and doesn’t showcase any visible seams.—
Izzy Baskette,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
-
As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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