PUT-ONS Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

put-ons

noun

plural of put-on

as in shows

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in spoofs

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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for put-ons

Noun

Perhaps that’s why the guest count at his SoFi shows was so thin compared to others.

— Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
The company is planning to launch a handful of new shows over the next few months, with a longer-term goal of having 12-16 channels led by creators who are subject matter experts.

— Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of shows

Noun

The film draws on 1980s supernatural comedies, including Back to the Future, Ghostbusters and The Addams Family, alongside classic monster movies and horror spoofs.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
Blanchett cofounded the nonprofit Human Consent Foundation to help people register how AI models can — or cannot — scrape their likenesses in an effort to combat such spoofs.

— Corbin Bolies, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of spoofs

Noun

Shirley has since visited other states in the US under similar pretenses, showing up unannounced to grocery stores and hospice centers in search of evidence of fraud.

— Mia Sato, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026
Conference expansion has shattered pretenses to regional coherence.

— Geraldo L. Cadava, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of pretenses

Noun

The five stars teased the project with parodies of their characters in a promo video.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026
The name of the collection parodies the seriousness of the museum, even as the collection itself is the kind of thing that has traditionally gotten scant attention within actual institutions.

— Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of parodies

Noun

Throughout the weekend, Dudamel embraced the worlds of Hollywood, Latin music in many guises and old-fashioned rock.

— Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
With their traditional, legacy rivals — the Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur — in various guises of transition, Arsenal are suddenly the team to beat and the Emirates is suddenly a library of sound; noise please.

— George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of guises

Noun

During the Soviet era, these monumental decorative panels appeared at metro stations, sports stadiums, school facades, and on the sides of residential blocks.

— Yulia Denisyuk, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2026
Isaias peeled off hotel and condominium rooftops and facades along the Florida Panhandle before charging north Saturday, dishing out torrential rains and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes across the Southeast.

— Emilie Megnien, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of facades

Noun

Since then, numerous instructors have found ways to use a chair for adapted versions of a surprising number of traditional yoga movements, like lunging warrior poses and standing-to-lying sun salutations.

— Jennifer Heimlich, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Participants trade exaggerated gestures, movements and poses, and the crowd’s reaction decides the winner.

— Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of poses

Noun

The tournament, while not officially sanctioned as an ATP event, features some of the top players in the world vying for millions of dollars and airs live on Netflix.

— Mark Osborne, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Earlier this year, the CMA and ABC announced an extension of your partnership to run through 2032 and includes streaming the CMA Awards on Disney+ for the first time simultaneously as the show airs on ABC.

— Melinda Newman, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of airs

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Cite this Entry

Style

“Put-ons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/put-ons. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of put-ons

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

disparate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes