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
-
There are concerts, comedy shows, malls, sports.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026 -
So there’s always a possibility that somebody from one of our shows could be on.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Retro Rewind players run a Blockbuster Video-like movie-rental store set in the early 1990s, complete with spoofs of real blockbusters of the era.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Way better than dusty game show and dinner party spoofs.—
Andy Hoglund,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The 2025 Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act, or HEAR Act, expands on a 2016 law, signed by President Barack Obama, that permits victims and descendants of victims of the Holocaust to lay legal claim to works of art looted by the Nazis or sold to the Nazis under false pretenses.—
Jackie Hajdenberg,
Sun Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2026
-
While some of the women who came here willingly embraced ISIS ideology and passed it on to their children, many others say they were trafficked or lured to the region through ignorance or under false pretenses.—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
While the show featured many of the same characters, its format strayed from the sci-fi space narrative of Spaceballs and instead was a series of parodies, each episode serving as a satirical commentary on several contemporary hits, such as Lord of the Rings, American Idol and Harry Potter.—
Maddie Garfinkle,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Human artists have designed creative parodies of AI slop, but AI lacks the necessary self-awareness to parody itself, even with a human behind the wheel.—
Cath Virginia,
The Verge,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
By the time my story about him was published in the November 2023 issue of Vanity Fair, Aryeh Dodelson, and all of his guises, had disappeared from the face of the earth.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
3 Apr. 2026
-
In its many guises, idolatry has survived, despite regular and often cataclysmic proof of its dangers, for centuries and many people will consider a much-larger-than-life golden statue of a president to be perfectly splendid.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Scandals and secrets will be revealed, facades will crumble, and families and friendships will change forever on both sides of the battlefield as this group of strong, game-changing influencers comes together to build their answer to #MomTok.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Marco Ernst, PhD, a researcher at Fraunhofer ISE and developer of the ShadeCut concept, emphasized that by structuring and cutting a color-producing film, the team can embed color effects and complex patterns directly into solar modules and facades.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In the photos, Fillmore sits proudly on the grass guarding his home, and later poses with a firefighter.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
-
With sparse amounts of slapstick, this staging isn’t the most physical of farces, though Lutz and Enriquez in particular strike some laugh-out-loud poses.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Survivor airs Wednesdays on CBS.—
Stephanie Petit,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Allen’s comics get unleashed after Colbert’s final show airs on May 21.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2026
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 25 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
