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

The judges are Heidi, Law, Tyra, and Willy, and Christian is on hand to explain which pieces are made out of paper towels. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026

Charging documents state that Uzarowski submitted invoices bearing the name of Shaw and Sons Amusements and what appeared to be a copy of a personal check made out to the company. — Joseph Debell, Baltimore Sun, 6 Aug. 2026

On the night of the Sex Purge, the streets are flooded with attractive, thin, largely heterosexual couples making out all over the place. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Every court now wrestling with preemption is really wrestling with that silence, and silence, at this volume, is a decision someone will eventually have to make out loud. — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026