1
: fully manufactured
2
: marked by the use of makeup
3
: fancifully conceived or falsely devised

Examples of made-up in a Sentence

the bogeyman was one of those made-up monsters whose sole purpose was to threaten children
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Something more insidious is at play with all of the half-baked or made-up statistics. Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 6 June 2025 The irony is that it is accepted that the tabloids found in the grocery store checkout aisle are often made-up or greatly exaggerated. Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025 American agricultural products once made-up 40 percent of China's market; that amount has fallen below 20 percent. John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025 Canons are as made-up as the stories that are part of them, so Dark Forces still has value as part of an old continuity that remains fun and quite wacky at times. Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 7 Mar. 2025 According to Jackson, our completely made-up (but almost certainly accurate) mythology for the ABC sudser isn’t necessarily dead in the water. Claire Franken, TVLine, 4 Mar. 2025 Canons are as made-up as the stories that are part of them, so Dark Forces still has value as part of an old continuity that remains fun and quite wacky at times. Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 7 Mar. 2025 To answer these questions, a group of 15 participants made-up of university students, recent graduates, and young adults, played the four online games mentioned—Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2, and Fortnite. Mia Taylor, Parents, 16 Jan. 2025 Telling lies to appease a user even if a false or made-up answer is provided. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of made-up was in 1725

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/made-up. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

made-up

adjective
ˈmā-ˈdəp
1
: created from the imagination
a made-up story
2
: marked by the use of makeup
made-up eyelids

More from Merriam-Webster on made-up

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!