as in fictitious
not real and existing only in the imagination
the bogeyman was one of those made-up monsters whose sole purpose was to threaten children
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in comprised
to be all the substance of
the book is made up of 20 chapters
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in devised
to create or think of by clever use of the imagination
she keeps making up excuses as to why she hasn't yet finished the project
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in built
to form by putting together parts or materials
we'll have to make up the bookcase, which came in a box marked "some assembly required"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of made-up
Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2026
Cook said his team detected a variety of age manipulation: synthetic fraud, in which real, stolen and made-up information is used to create a new identity; identity fraud; and document fraud.
—Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
That story was 100 percent insane and made-up, and not a word of it is true.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
Vietnam had an imaginary Gulf of Tonkin attack; Trump has made-up drug cartels.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
And there's not one right way to do it, considering the holiday is made-up and the real thing is just around the corner.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 19 Nov. 2025
And while OpenAI’s defenders could chalk that up to an isolated or even made-up incident, within 24 hours of the GPT-5 launch Altman was doing damage control, seemingly caught of guard by the bad reception.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Because a lot of things on reality TV are made-up situations and scenarios to provoke reactions and all of that stuff.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Something more insidious is at play with all of the half-baked or made-up statistics.
—Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 6 June 2025
Lucas Villa, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
They were stunned to discover thriving ecosystems made up of millimeter-sized organisms clinging to exposed rock surfaces in near-freezing darkness.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
The rest of the cast is also made up of non-professional actors.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026
Regardless, much of the developing world is made up of much younger countries, with populations in Africa, for example, at much lower risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19 than elderly individuals with comorbidities in the United States or Western Europe.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
His district currently is made up of nearly 50% Black voters and provided a greater than 60% vote for Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 presidential election.
—Travis Loller, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
Fitbit made up about 6% of the global wristband market in 2025, followed by Whoop at 2%, according to data from IDC.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 7 May 2026
After a five-month, 120-game regular season featuring record crowds, women’s hockey enjoying a significant post-Olympic boost and with more expansion on the horizon, the Walter Cup playoff semifinalists are made up exclusively of the league’s old guard.
—John Wawrow, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2026
The game will be made up on Thursday as part of a split doubleheader.
—Laura Fay, CBS News, 29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
During his interview, Newsom spoke about his ongoing and very public feud with Trump, who received the inaugural (and made-up) FIFA Peace Prize in December.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2026
Cook said his team detected a variety of age manipulation: synthetic fraud, in which real, stolen and made-up information is used to create a new identity; identity fraud; and document fraud.
—Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
That story was 100 percent insane and made-up, and not a word of it is true.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
Vietnam had an imaginary Gulf of Tonkin attack; Trump has made-up drug cartels.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
And there's not one right way to do it, considering the holiday is made-up and the real thing is just around the corner.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 19 Nov. 2025
And while OpenAI’s defenders could chalk that up to an isolated or even made-up incident, within 24 hours of the GPT-5 launch Altman was doing damage control, seemingly caught of guard by the bad reception.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Because a lot of things on reality TV are made-up situations and scenarios to provoke reactions and all of that stuff.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Something more insidious is at play with all of the half-baked or made-up statistics.
—Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 6 June 2025
Verb
La Voz Favorita, out Thursday, is made up of a staggering 24 tracks, where Wheeler revisits his roots while pushing urbano forward.
—Lucas Villa, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
They were stunned to discover thriving ecosystems made up of millimeter-sized organisms clinging to exposed rock surfaces in near-freezing darkness.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
The rest of the cast is also made up of non-professional actors.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026
Regardless, much of the developing world is made up of much younger countries, with populations in Africa, for example, at much lower risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19 than elderly individuals with comorbidities in the United States or Western Europe.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
His district currently is made up of nearly 50% Black voters and provided a greater than 60% vote for Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 presidential election.
—Travis Loller, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
Fitbit made up about 6% of the global wristband market in 2025, followed by Whoop at 2%, according to data from IDC.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 7 May 2026
After a five-month, 120-game regular season featuring record crowds, women’s hockey enjoying a significant post-Olympic boost and with more expansion on the horizon, the Walter Cup playoff semifinalists are made up exclusively of the league’s old guard.
—John Wawrow, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2026
The game will be made up on Thursday as part of a split doubleheader.
—Laura Fay, CBS News, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
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However, operators often hide behind fictitious or stolen identities and fail to comply with cease-and-desist letters; meanwhile, hosting servers are often untraceable, shielded by anonymization techniques or by being located in countries where legal enforcement is extremely difficult.—
Emma Woollacott,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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He is charged with one count of unlawful voting by aliens and one count of the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under state law.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Her mandate spans entertainment TV networks — with marquee events like the Oscars and Grammys —streaming platforms Disney+ and Hulu and Disney’s sports portfolio, mainly comprised of ESPN’s linear and streaming options.—
Lillian Rizzo,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
-
Their main competition for the two main trophies in their sights this season comprised Manchester City domestically and PSG in Europe, backed by Abu Dhabi and Qatar, respectively.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
One of the easiest ways for an AI maker to guide an LLM in mental health chats is to use a system-wide prompt devised by the AI maker.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
-
Jessica Guynn has a story about a music teacher who devised a new teaching method around a notation system based on languages students already knew – their ABCs and 123s.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Playing catch-up, Target has built three new distribution hubs in the past four years to replace the capacity third-party partners previously provided.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
For a movement built partly around concern over pesticides and environmental toxins, that was not a side issue.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
Amounts that would have looked imaginary three years ago are now the entry ticket.—
Renana Ashkenazi,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
But his idealized vision of a past paradise of social cohesion that late-stage capitalism destroyed doesn’t reckon with the snakes that were always there in this imaginary Eden, including a personal betrayal that’s close to home and only comes slithering out in a moment of drunken weakness.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
These medium candles come in a frosted jar with fragrances composed of essential oils.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
-
Power comes on smoothly, highway passing feels confident and the Outback remains composed whether climbing grades or navigating city traffic.—
Tim Jackson,
Denver Post,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
With the trend away from toxic chemical control of plant pests and diseases, treatment formulas concocted from benign household products are on the rise.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
28 May 2026
-
Their fragrances were always concocted around a storyline.—
Jennifer Weil,
Footwear News,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
It was originally constructed in 1937 by Alfred Clark, a Bahamian carpenter who gifted it to family friend Jessie Bethel.—
Delia Rose Sauer,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
-
Early cages were constructed from chicken wire, until steel began to be used around the ’80s.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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