1
as in to throw (on)
to place on one's person
I put on a coat and shoes to go outside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to exaggerate
to describe or express in too strong terms
some critics are putting it on when they say it's the best comedy ever made
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of
put on a show of anger just for fun
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
a put-on goofy voice
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pretense
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
my bravery was all a put-on—I was scared out of my wits
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in parody
a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect
for a moment, I couldn't tell if the commercial was serious or a deadpan put-on of ads by other insurance companies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of put on
Ashley J. Dimella , Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Nunoo, a Texas native, was put on a board and carted off the field before an ambulance rushed him to a hospital.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2025
But this isn’t what irks rage’s older detractors, who grew up loving Dr. Dre and knew the misogyny of 2001 was not the put-on some of the gun talk might’ve been.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for put on
Verb
The coins will undergo conservation before they're put on public display.
—Ashley J. Dimella , Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Nunoo, a Texas native, was put on a board and carted off the field before an ambulance rushed him to a hospital.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
With access to troves of archival footage, Braverman shows Kaufman transforming the very nature of comedy by launching the put-on into existential extremes.
—Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2025
But this isn’t what irks rage’s older detractors, who grew up loving Dr. Dre and knew the misogyny of 2001 was not the put-on some of the gun talk might’ve been.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for put on
Recent Examples of Synonyms for put on
Verb
-
Giménez was exaggerating, but not by much.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Our foul, flatulent father-figure may exaggerate a bit when belittling his enemies (and friends, for that matter), but cloaked under his aura of filth — like an adult Pig-Pen’s toxic dust cloud — rests a core truth.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Kids can pretend to be Chase on a case, but there are also other Paw Patrol Halloween costumes, including Marshall, Rocky, Rubble, Skye, Zuma, and Everest.—
Katrina Cossey,
Parents,
1 Oct. 2025
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Beneath the prosthetics and punchlines lies a story about the cost of pretending and the possibility of renewal.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Flight 11 will target those same two splashdown zones, and Ship will aim to deploy another eight mock Starlinks, SpaceX wrote in Monday's update.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
30 Sep. 2025
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Recently, Taylor invited her daughter’s class to Euronews Albania for a behind-the-scenes look at how television is made, where the children took part in mock interviews and explored the studio with wide-eyed excitement.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Multiple Democrats say Vought and the president were determined to use the shutdown as a pretense for inflicting further pain on political opponents.—
Franco Ordoñez,
NPR,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Composer Deantoni Parks’s score sustains and amplifies the tension, heightening the creeping pretense of water rushing forward and the punishing breathlessness of struggling back upstream.—
Anne Reeve,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Her only acting credit so far is a short parody sketch called AI Commissioner.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Aimee Lou Wood doesn’t regret criticizing Saturday Night Live over their parody of her character on The White Lotus.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The 35-year-old donned a little black dress clad with a jeweled neck-piece.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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Instead of donning a perfectly intact hairdo, Kravitz opted for the undone aesthetic; her hair was halfway trapped under the collar of her windbreaker.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Methanol is an industrial chemical that can cause nerve and liver damage and is sometimes found in fake or poorly distilled alcohol.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
5 Oct. 2025
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Aside from games like volleyball and dominoes, Gach says some children stage fake ambushes on one another while pretending to be government forces or rebel fighters.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Every groove of San Siro’s concrete facade tells a different story.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Choose from Bat Knit Crazy Cheddar, Death by Garlic Black Garlic Cheddar, Freaky Franken Sage Derby, or Scary Pumpkin Spice Wensleydale for high-quality cheeses that are only spooky in façade.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Put on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/put%20on. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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