1
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
2
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
-
Sevilla in particular excelled at this during their 4-1 win this month as the map below shows.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025 -
Sarah McLachlan, please call The New Theatre & Restaurant in Overland Park, where shows run for weeks at a time, has provided an endless supply of actors to chat with.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For instance, think back to when everyone was doing spoofs about titles that dealt with women in trains or in windows or in peril.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Indeed, Altman, by virtue of the sheer number of spoofs, appears to have joined the pantheon of comic figures alongside South Park’s Eric Cartman and Family Guy’s Peter Griffin.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Did Gacy’s attorney, Sam Amirante, agree to represent him on false pretenses and later struggle to be his lawyer?—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Harold is so clearly not a great man that his pretenses feel more like cries for help.—
Jeremy Gordon,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Death, of course, is never permanent in slasher movies, or parodies of slasher movies, for that matter.—
Skyler Trepel,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Pop-culture figures like Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman are so ubiquitous as to be both movie characters and parodies of themselves, and this DuckTales episode is good for any kids that like monsters but aren’t quite ready to be menaced by them yet.—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Bad actors can take on all kinds of guises—including pretending to be lawyers.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
During the festival, SCAD will introduce new backlot facades as well as plans for two new soundstages and 11 new classrooms set to open in 2026.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
24 Oct. 2025
-
On Wednesday, the team announced the creation of a new way to evaluate the performance of photoactive materials for semi-transparent organic photovoltaics (ST-OPVs), which could transform how energy is harvested through everyday surfaces like windows, screens, and facades.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The actress brought her modeling skills to Instagram on Tuesday, striking various poses in straight-off-the-runway strappy pink-and-black pumps from Julie Kegels‘ spring 2026 show.—
Kelsey Stewart,
Footwear News,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Helping the fox is especially urgent, said Good Boy Dog Recovery president Colleen Bell, because the problems the pipe poses will only get worse come winter.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The show will be available to stream with a regular Hulu subscription on Sunday, the day after a new episode airs.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
26 Oct. 2025
-
The Drew Barrymore Show airs weekdays on CBS.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
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
“Put-ons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/put-ons. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share