make out

make out

verb

Definition of MAKE OUT

1

to meet one's day-to-day needs <we're not rich, but we're making out all right>

Synonyms cope, do, fare, get by, get on, make out, manage, shift

Related Words carry on, contrive, scrape (by or through), scrounge; last, survive; eke out, scrape (out), squeeze, wrest, wring; afford, swing

Near Antonyms collapse, fail, fall short, fizzle, flounder; decline, peter (out), slump, wane; give up

2

to have a clear idea of <I can't quite make out what she is trying to say>

Synonyms appreciate, apprehend, assimilate, behold, catch, catch on (to), cognize, compass, conceive, cotton (to or on to), decipher, decode, dig, discern, get, grasp, grok, intuit, know, make, make out, perceive, recognize, register, savvy, see, seize, sense, tumble (to), twig, understand

Related Words absorb, digest, take in; realize; fathom, penetrate, pierce

Near Antonyms misapprehend, misconceive, misconstrue, misinterpret, misperceive, misread, mistake, misunderstand

Antonyms miss

3

to take on a false or deceptive appearance <he tried to make out that he didn't mind losing his job, but friends suspected he was desperately worried>

Synonyms dissemble, dissimulate, let on, make out

Related Words act, impersonate, masquerade, play, playact, pose; affect, assume, counterfeit, fake, feign, profess, put on, sham, simulate; camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask; bluff, feint

4

to form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information <as best as I can make out, the police were informed of the incident but didn't think it was worth investigating>

Synonyms conclude, decide, deduce, derive, extrapolate, gather, judge, make out, reason, understand

Related Words assume, suppose; conjecture, guess, speculate, surmise; construe, interpret, read; contemplate, philosophize, rationalize, think; ascertain, dope (out), find out