made-up
Americanadjective
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concocted; falsely fabricated or invented.
a made-up story.
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being in makeup; wearing facial cosmetics.
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put together; finished.
adjective
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invented; fictional
a made-up story
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wearing make-up
a well made-up woman
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put together; assembled
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(of a road) surfaced with asphalt, concrete, etc
Etymology
Origin of made-up
First recorded in 1600–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The Odyssey” is a made-up story, and the characters of a made-up story can look however we want them to.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
After 120 minutes of action, you’re tied up against our made-up team and the match is heading to penalties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Meloni has said his comments were entirely "made-up", and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has cancelled a trip to the US early next week.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Talarico might as well throw some weird made-up insinuations at Paxton to keep up.
From Slate ● May 30, 2026
There was nothing made-up about her, but she was almost movie-star beautiful.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
