1
as in comprising
to be all the substance of
the book is made up of 20 chapters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in devising
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 building
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 making up
Arteta ended this block of matches before the international break by being adventurous against both Newcastle and West Ham, despite slightly different personnel making up that midfield unit.
—
Art De Roché, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Center, and the bourbon bars and distilleries making up Whiskey Row.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Oct. 2025
The Lumbee Tribe has 60,000 members in Robeson, Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland counties, making up the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the country, the resolution says.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 4 Oct. 2025
This stems from the concept of reparations in the popular consciousness being flattened to mean checks for Black people making up for the harms of slavery.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Creators making up to $400,000 a year could claim some portion of the deduction.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
As of Wednesday, only 70,000 Palestinians had evacuated Gaza City out of approximately one million people, a senior Israeli official said, making up less than 10% of the total population.
—Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Commercial deals, such as the NFL’s billion-dollar TV contracts, however, are shared—making up a large portion of the NFL’s roughly $280 million annual per-team salary cap.
—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Utility rates could rise as Kentucky LG&E and KU, together making up the state's largest utility, predict electricity demand to grow by up to 45% by 2032 compared to last year, driven mostly by data centers, the Courier Journal reports.
—Sara Chernikoff, The Courier-Journal, 5 Aug. 2025
Art De Roché, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Center, and the bourbon bars and distilleries making up Whiskey Row.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Oct. 2025
The Lumbee Tribe has 60,000 members in Robeson, Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland counties, making up the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the country, the resolution says.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 4 Oct. 2025
This stems from the concept of reparations in the popular consciousness being flattened to mean checks for Black people making up for the harms of slavery.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Creators making up to $400,000 a year could claim some portion of the deduction.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
As of Wednesday, only 70,000 Palestinians had evacuated Gaza City out of approximately one million people, a senior Israeli official said, making up less than 10% of the total population.
—Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Commercial deals, such as the NFL’s billion-dollar TV contracts, however, are shared—making up a large portion of the NFL’s roughly $280 million annual per-team salary cap.
—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Utility rates could rise as Kentucky LG&E and KU, together making up the state's largest utility, predict electricity demand to grow by up to 45% by 2032 compared to last year, driven mostly by data centers, the Courier Journal reports.
—Sara Chernikoff, The Courier-Journal, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for making up
Verb
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While its initial focus was cross-border payments, Zhang said the company’s revenue is now spread over an array of products, with business accounts similar to Mercury comprising 34% of its revenue, spend management 20%, and payments 30%.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the quartet, comprising three men and one woman, were living in or around Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb to the north of the French capital.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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For 39 years, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has required redistricting institutions to consider racial and ethnic minority representation when devising congressional districts.—
Sam D. Hayes,
The Conversation,
13 Oct. 2025
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The problem in devising such a tax is defining what constitutes a robot.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The American technology giant, a crucial partner in the Gulf country’s AI ambitions, is exporting advanced Nvidia chips to the Emirates, building more data centers, and training 1 million people in technical know-how.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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Ives said that no longer having to buy credits should reduce the cost of building a vehicle by 3% to 5%.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Drilling in pursuit of natural gas and oil in Wyoming has shown that the sandstone rock composing the Lance Formation is very deep beneath the mummies, measuring more than 1,000 meters (over 3,200 feet).—
Paul C. Sereno,
The Conversation,
24 Oct. 2025
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Abandoned by society yet driven by resilience, Hajeer transforms silence into strength, composing a symphony of redemption and love.—
Essie Assibu,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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China has also been concocting a pretext for action.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
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But in the late 1800s, food companies began concocting products that were wildly different from anything people could make themselves.—
Alice Callahan,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Or the goal may be clinching a big add-on acquisition, or satisfying an unforeseen surge in sales by constructing new plants.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
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The film follows his lead, constructing a near-relentless study of misery that culminates in a disturbing finale.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Music reality series focused on assembling a group have been around for years.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
25 Oct. 2025
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Coaching the Crew The crew — including two backup crew members, NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Gibbons — have been just as busy as the people assembling their spacecraft.—
Matt Alderton,
USA Today,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This geometric architecture may even explain how complex organisms evolved so rapidly — not by inventing new genes, but by rearranging the ways existing ones are used.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Oct. 2025
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But truths go ignored, the film argues, when everyone prefers inventing realities for themselves.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Making up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/making%20up. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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