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
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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
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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"
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of made-up
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
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
Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 12 Jan. 2026
Last year, the first that the tournament expanded to 12 teams, an eight seed and seven seed made up the championship game.
—American-Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 10 Jan. 2026
Other clips showed that the elderly made up many of the protesters.
—Arsalan Shahla, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2026
Her second ensemble consisted of a chic suit with a fur collar, while her third bridal look was made up of an understated satin and chiffon dress with a mid-calf hem.
—Nicole Briese, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
This annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum is made up of two hangars filled with thousands of space and air objects.
—Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 8 Nov. 2025
According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the hurricane is likely to bring life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides to parts of Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, which is made up of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
—Kristin Wright, NPR, 25 Oct. 2025
The pool is made up of 60% of gate receipts from each of those games.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 25 Oct. 2025
The Overland Park City Council is made up of the mayor and 12 members, with two members representing six wards.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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.
—Verb
But Purdy made up for it by leading a 10-play, 61-yard drive ending with another touchdown pass to McCaffrey, his second of the half.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for made-up
Adjective
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Anyone who’s survived to 2026 knows the upper class’ fictitious fantasies still carry real, wretched consequences for the rest of us, but Season 4 plays out those ongoing scenarios to the nth degree, while condensing them into an appreciable narrative arc.—
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The series, which premiered on Netflix at the end of 2024, tells the story of the Buendía family over multiple generations and is set in the fictitious town of Macondo, Colombia, which the family founded.—
Verb
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The teams comprised veteran baseball stars from both nations.—
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The leather shoes comprised a mix of male boots, children’s and women’s shoes.—
Verb
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In the 19th century, the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace devised his own theory of evolution, independent of Charles Darwin, while visiting the region to research his book, The Malay Archipelago.—
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And to that end, the Islamic Republic may have devised a failsafe for itself against popular anger.—
Verb
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Today’s pairs are built for all conditions, designed to carry you through long days without blisters or fuss, while still looking effortless.—
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Our country is built on immigrants.—
Adjective
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As players shoot around, Jake cradles a ball before blowing past an imaginary defender to hammer home a dunk.—
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At the opening, Natalie, bored and filled with loathing for her parents, flees her family home by retreating into imaginary worlds of vivid, eroticized violence.—
Verb
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The brain is composed mainly of fat, including omega-3 fatty acids and cholesterol, which are essential for maintaining brain cell structure and function.—
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Produced by Cate Le Bon and composed by the band inside studios owned by Jeff Tweedy and Gilla Band, Secret Love would be a return to form, but Dry Cleaning never fell out of shape in the first place.—
Verb
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In exchange for not being charged with a DUI, the family’s lawyer concocted a deal in which Skakel was sent to the controversial Élan School in Maine in an effort to correct his unruly behavior.—
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Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report concocted this trade idea that sees the Lakers land and shore up both their frontcourt and backcourt, the Dallas Mavericks duo of former All-Star Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford.—
Verb
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The wide-leg pants in this matching set are high-waisted with an elastic drawstring waistband for comfort, and are constructed with two side pockets for storage.—
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Gothic architecture, on the other hand, focused on height and light; despite being constructed from heavy stone, Gothic cathedrals seem to defy the laws of gravity.—
Cite this Entry
“Made-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/made-up. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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