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"
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of making up
Congress has to keep making up the gap with general taxpayer funds.
—
Camila Domonoske, NPR, 28 May 2026
The timing of the hearing, coming less than three weeks before the primary election, throws a spotlight on the scandal just as voters are making up their minds.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026
So far this year through April 19, 29 of the city’s 201 shooting victims have been under 18 making up 14% of the victims, according to the NYPD.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
Businesses run by women are beginning to dominate the state’s economy, making up 40% statewide.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 16 Apr. 2026
San Francisco, for instance, now offers interest-free loans of up to $500,000 to first-time homebuyers making up to $218,200 annually.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 19 Mar. 2026
These are the plants that are making up my diet during my winter in Florida.
—Robin Greenfield, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2026
Black people account for 53% of the unhoused population, despite making up less than one-third of the city’s total population.
—Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
Barnes noted that the team's computer simulations were limited by the number and sizes of the particles making up the clouds of pebbles that went on to form planetesimals.
—Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2026
Camila Domonoske, NPR, 28 May 2026
The timing of the hearing, coming less than three weeks before the primary election, throws a spotlight on the scandal just as voters are making up their minds.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026
So far this year through April 19, 29 of the city’s 201 shooting victims have been under 18 making up 14% of the victims, according to the NYPD.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
Businesses run by women are beginning to dominate the state’s economy, making up 40% statewide.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 16 Apr. 2026
San Francisco, for instance, now offers interest-free loans of up to $500,000 to first-time homebuyers making up to $218,200 annually.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 19 Mar. 2026
These are the plants that are making up my diet during my winter in Florida.
—Robin Greenfield, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2026
Black people account for 53% of the unhoused population, despite making up less than one-third of the city’s total population.
—Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
Barnes noted that the team's computer simulations were limited by the number and sizes of the particles making up the clouds of pebbles that went on to form planetesimals.
—Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for making up
Verb
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The Brecon, originally built in 1914 and now comprising 18 rooms and four suites, parallels Singer’s approach to artistically blending past and present.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
1 June 2026
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Students and young filmmakers pitched before a fiction jury comprising Pedro Andrade of Lab Barcelona, Manuel Lacasa of Abycine Lanza and Filmin programmer Elody Mellado.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
1 June 2026
Verb
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States are getting creative in devising how the money will be collected either through taxation or voluntary donations by state residents.—
Noël Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Working with industry qubits Imec’s genius is not in devising a new kind of qubit but in using one that’s the easiest to scale.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
26 May 2026
Verb
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Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images SoftBank's plan to invest 75 billion euros in building AI infrastructure in France underscored the nation's status as a leading hub, but Big Tech's lofty energy demands will put the wider continent's grid to the test, analysts say.—
Joseph Wilkins,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
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This includes providing the Colombian military more leeway in the field, signing a new security agreement with Washington and building 10 mega-prisons that mimic Bukele’s network of penitentiaries in El Salvador.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
Verb
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In the early 1960s, Negri was hired as the music director for the ABC affiliate Pittsburgh station WTAE, playing on various live programs and composing theme music for over 20 years.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
-
Modern agentic systems are dynamic, composing dependencies and integrating multiple models at runtime, a shift confirmed by massive industry investments.—
Pranay Ahlawat,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
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And she’s spent a decade scaling her brand into an industry disrupter; Ellsworth began concocting prebiotic drinks in 2015, founding her business just one year later.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
11 May 2026
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According to the report, workers illegally pocketed between $20,000 and more than $41,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans from a massive federal COVID-19 pandemic relief effort – some by concocting companies that didn't exist to pocket federal assistance funds.—
Chris Tye,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After constructing a timeline, investigators concluded that Emilio had been lured to meet Alvarez shortly before his disappearance.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
6 June 2026
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But sourcing materials and constructing furniture turned out to be the easy part.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
6 June 2026
Verb
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As a row of kids delighted in mixing cotton candy and frozen lemonade into an only-at-the-ballpark dessert, the usher alerted the parents that a mass of boisterous and predominantly shirtless men soon would be assembling in a nearby section.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
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Somewhere a hand was raised, a whistle was blown, and all at once the butchers were out of their stalls, assembling in the aisles.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Whereas electricity was powerful in automating physical processes, and the internet moved information faster, neither technology made inventing new things faster.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
24 May 2026
-
The dominant technique now isn’t so much inventing a controversy from nothing as choosing which real minor outrage to fuel.—
Lane Brown,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Making up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/making%20up. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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