make-be·lieve
ˈmāk-bə-ˌlēv 
variants
or less commonly make-belief
: a pretending that what is not real is real
a fiction writer's childish willingness to immerse himself in make-believe—
John Updike
John UpdikeExamples of make-believe in a Sentence
Adjective
zoomed around the house in a make-believe car
Recent Examples on the Web
Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Many stirred up a storm over the long-necked, make-believe herbivore named Clair after she was taken in the middle of the night from her perch outside a gas station in Brentwood, an upscale enclave east of the Palisades, on Sept. 27.
—Aishvarya Kavi, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2023
The internet provided a fertile new stage for my proclivity for make-believe.
—Kira Homsher, Longreads, 14 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for make-believe
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Noun
Folks like make-believe scares before facing the real-life horror of grocery store prices.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Many stirred up a storm over the long-necked, make-believe herbivore named Clair after she was taken in the middle of the night from her perch outside a gas station in Brentwood, an upscale enclave east of the Palisades, on Sept. 27.
—Aishvarya Kavi, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Yet in the past, intimate scenes in theater, film and television were rarely treated with the same mindfulness as a make-believe duel.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2023
The internet provided a fertile new stage for my proclivity for make-believe.
—Kira Homsher, Longreads, 14 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for make-believe
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make-believe. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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