Synonyms of make out

make out

verb

1

as in to cope

to meet one's day-to-day needs

we're not rich, but we're making out all right

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cope
• do
• make do
• make ends meet
• get along
• get by
• get on
• manage
• survive
• make shift
• fare
• shift
• afford
• carry on
• fend for oneself
• eke out
• scrape (by or through)
• last
• scrounge
• contrive
• scrape (out)
• squeeze
• wring
• wrest
• swing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fall short
• fail
• collapse
• decline
• give up
• flounder
• wane
• slump
• fizzle
• peter (out)

2

as in to understand

to have a clear idea of

I can't quite make out what she is trying to say

Synonyms & Similar Words

• understand
• know
• decipher
• see
• recognize
• appreciate
• comprehend
• grasp
• get
• tumble (to)
• realize
• cotton (to or on to)
• catch on (to)
• perceive
• discern
• make
• sense
• pick up on
• conceive
• seize
• dig
• register
• assimilate
• apprehend
• behold
• twig
• catch
• decode
• compass
• intuit
• take in
• grok
• savvy
• cognize
• absorb
• digest
• fathom
• penetrate
• pierce

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• miss
• misunderstand
• mistake
• misread
• misinterpret
• misconstrue
• misperceive
• misconceive
• misapprehend

3

as in to pretend

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 & Similar Words

• pretend
• make believe
• make a show
• let on
• make a pretense
• put on an act
• put up a front
• pose
• dissimulate
• dissemble
• act
• play
• put on
• simulate
• affect
• masquerade
• assume
• conceal
• feign
• fake
• impersonate
• profess
• disguise
• camouflage
• sham
• mask
• counterfeit
• playact
• bluff
• feint

4

as in to derive

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 & Similar Words

• derive
• understand
• decide
• conclude
• infer
• think
• deduce
• guess
• reason
• judge
• assume
• extrapolate
• draw a conclusion
• suppose
• speculate
• gather
• read
• ascertain
• find out
• interpret
• surmise
• contemplate
• construe
• rationalize
• conjecture
• philosophize
• dope (out)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of make out

Every year, one of the more popular exhibitions is the crop-art contest, in which residents submit art work made out of pulses, seeds, and legumes to be judged for prizes. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026

Video was shown from the interrogation, but Scott’s answers were hard to make out. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026

The house was small, made out of wooden boards that somehow still held together. — Alex Jovanovich, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

As host, Madix is always happy to watch cast members make out. — Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 31 Aug. 2026