Synonyms of made-up

made-up 1 of 2

adjective

ˈmād-ˈəp 

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

• fictitious
• imaginary
• fictional
• mythical
• imagined
• fantasied
• imaginal
• invented
• make-believe
• fanciful
• ideal
• phantom
• unreal
• chimerical
• notional
• phantasmal
• pretend
• fantastic
• theoretical
• phantasmic
• hypothetical
• fabulous
• legendary
• romantic
• visionary
• unlikely
• abstract
• fabled
• unconvincing
• unbelievable
• deceptive
• illusory
• concocted
• fictive
• conceived
• envisioned
• hallucinatory
• visualized
• delusive
• nonexistent
• phantasmagoric
• delusional
• pictured
• fabricated
• feigned
• envisaged
• daydreamlike
• inexistent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• real
• actual
• existing
• true
• genuine
• authentic
• existent
• factual
• realistic
• verifiable
• physical
• convincing
• believable
• substantial
• solid
• material
• tangible
• corporeal
• verified
• palpable

made up

2 of 2

verb

past tense of make up

1

as in comprised

to be all the substance of

the book is made up of 20 chapters

Synonyms & Similar Words

• comprised
• composed
• constituted
• formed
• integrated
• embodied
• filled (out)
• incorporated
• complemented
• supplemented
• completed
• personified
• incarnated
• substantiated
• epitomized
• materialized
• fleshed (out)

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

• devised
• concocted
• constructed
• invented
• came up with
• designed
• thought (up)
• cooked (up)
• manufactured
• produced
• excogitated
• contrived
• trumped up
• drummed up
• vamped (up)
• hatched
• fabricated
• conceived
• envisioned
• imagined
• dreamed
• coined
• visualized
• envisaged
• fantasized
• improvised
• visioned
• daydreamed
• extemporized
• pictured
• ad-libbed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• copied
• reproduced
• duplicated
• cloned
• mimicked
• replicated
• imitated
• copycatted
• reduplicated

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

• built
• constructed
• assembled
• made
• created
• erected
• established
• designed
• set up
• put together
• manufactured
• produced
• pieced
• put up
• fabricated
• raised
• reared
• confected
• generated
• began
• rebuilt
• concocted
• organized
• founded
• shaped
• originated
• forged
• threw up
• carpentered
• fashioned
• molded
• invented
• thought (up)
• reconstructed
• hammered
• instituted
• initiated
• inaugurated
• framed
• imagined
• prefabricated
• cooked (up)
• devised
• constituted
• reedified
• coined
• fathered
• conceived
• combined
• handcrafted
• reassembled
• contrived
• rigged (up)
• innovated
• united
• redeveloped
• retrofitted
• jerry-built

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• took down
• struck
• destroyed
• dismantled
• flattened
• knocked down
• tore down
• disassembled
• ruined
• shattered
• smashed
• wrecked
• demolished
• pulled down
• dismembered
• pulverized
• devastated
• razed
• leveled
• exploded
• demounted
• blew up
• divided
• ruinated
• disengaged
• detached
• separated
• disconnected
• disjoined
• disunited

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of made-up

Adjective

That story was 100 percent insane and made-up, and not a word of it is true. — Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 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

Verb

Tokyo is made up of 23 smaller cities, or wards, each with its own leaders, rules and regulations. — Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026

In episode 4, Noah made up an elaborate ruse involving a fake friend’s wedding in Napa — a means of getting Joanne to wine country for a romantic weekend. — Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2026