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
With Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb solely making up for nearly 37% of the team's cap, there's not much to go around.
—
Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In the same time frame, the number of homes that are valued at $500,000 went from 5% to 25% of the city’s housing stock — making up a quarter of what’s available in Olathe.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026
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
Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In the same time frame, the number of homes that are valued at $500,000 went from 5% to 25% of the city’s housing stock — making up a quarter of what’s available in Olathe.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for making up
Verb
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The classes were small at first, comprising mostly Sharon’s brothers and a few of their friends.—
Everett Eaton,
jsonline.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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Wikipedia also exists in more than 340 other languages, including Cheyenne, Samoan and Aramaic, comprising almost 10 times the number of articles in English.—
Imogen West-Knights,
The Dial,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And commissioners spent all that time devising the College Sports Commission in an attempt to stabilize the NIL/portal market, then sit back and let one school in their conference steal yet another star QB half an hour before the portal closes.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The show requires extensive script changes and dress rehearsals ahead of the taping in the evening, and contestants are building out their acts throughout the week.—
Itzel Luna,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
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What is the process for designing and building a hotel lobby?—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Despite the show being about London’s high society, the production team used the row of terrace houses composing the famed Royal Crescent to depict the exterior of the Featherington household.—
Kayla Keegan,
PEOPLE,
1 Feb. 2026
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Due to the Los Angeles wildfires, he was trapped in Montana for a week without plans and started composing before the film had even officially secured a financing deal.—
Matthew Huff,
Vanity Fair,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The reality is that the AI is concocting elaborate personas, faking as though humans are writing about human woes.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Both activities can be fairly ordinary hobbies—games of imagination not so different from crushing on a pop star or concocting stories about a film protagonist.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Risk is one of the most consequential currencies in geopolitics, and Washington has spent years constructing an elaborate risk architecture around China.—
Dewardric L. McNeal,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
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Bonds are used to fund brick-and-mortar projects, which include constructing, equipping, maintaining and furnishing district facilities.—
Kendrick Calfee
February 11,
Kansas City Star,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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One of the most significant differences between the version shared on Cadillac’s social media channels and the television advertisement was the inclusion of more behind-the-scenes footage of what goes into assembling the car, from design to assembly.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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The city is assembling a new contractor team to ensure cost efficiency and accountability for this important project.—
Kara King,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Tell that to Soren Sorensen (Sam) Adams, the Danish immigrant who is credited with inventing many of the same contraptions, along with some six hundred others, including sneezing powder and the joy buzzer.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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Teachers are not inventing problems.—
Lance Walters,
Washington Post,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Making up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/making%20up. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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