make-believe 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of make-believenext
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination zoomed around the house in a make-believe car

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

make-believe

2 of 3

noun

as in fiction

Related Words

make believe

3 of 3

phrase

as in pretend
to present a false appearance of He made believe he was sick to get out of going to school.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of make-believe
Adjective
Tesshi Nakagawa’s scenic design is like a toy kingdom that induces the audience into a state of make-believe. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026 But just as much of its humor came from portraying displays of everyday decency as the stuff of Hollywood make-believe, on par with the cinematic catharsis of a high-stakes Damon vehicle. — Erik Adams, The Atlantic, 10 May 2026
Noun
Johansson may have been in character while wearing the shoes, but there’s nothing make-believe about their comfort. — Averi Baudler, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026 Light on its feet but quietly attuned to questions of grief, memory and make-believe, the film serves as a charming aperitif to kick off this year’s festival — a playful ode to the magic of cinema. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
Phrase
So in this case, let’s make believe in some timeline that didn’t happen and my wife got a manicure that day. — Joel Feder, The Drive, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for make-believe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make-believe
  1. imaginary
  2. fiction
  3. fictional
  4. simulation
  5. fictitious
  6. imitation
  7. mythical
  8. representation
Adjective
  • Out on a wooden platform extending over San Diego’s Mission Bay, young women sway from side to side, riding an imaginary wave to the beats.
    — Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Just before the pandemic, Manhattan’s MCC Theater staged a show called All the Natalie Portmans, about a gay Black teenage cinephile who envisions the actor as a kind of manic pixie imaginary friend.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of imaginary
Noun
  • The Queer Incubator Santiago–Guadalajara will accept six Latin American fiction projects in the script development phase with their corresponding pitch decks.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
  • She was instructed to think of someone in her life, describe them, walk around as them, become them — then pull from other real-life situations, then let the magic of fiction take over.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of fiction
Adjective
  • The first season was filmed in Wales and set in the fictional North Wales village of Morfa Halen.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • This is where the creation of the aforementioned fictional Barrow’s Green came about, which eventually came to life in the form of The Six Bells Inn.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of fictional
Noun
  • The robot showed walking and body-coordination patterns that were qualitatively similar to those seen in simulation.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The hackers recruited the agent for hundreds of attacks by telling it the exercises were part of a simulation, Reuters reported, making their work up to 50% faster.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of simulation
Adjective
  • The undercover analyst noted in a message that his fictitious 4-year-old brother would be home the next day, when the Perez meeting was expected.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Final testing relied on fictitious data instead of the real records of millions of residents.
    — Komal Goyal, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of fictitious
Noun
  • Told that imitation is the highest form of flattery, Steele guffaws.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The Catholics in his government, from Supreme Court justices to Cabinet members to Vice President JD Vance, are acting as a rubber stamp for an imperious ruler, instead of imitations of Christ.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of imitation
Adjective
  • Consider the mythic fates of Icarus, Prometheus, Hercules—all were punished rather severely for trying to expand knowledge, to make progress.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2026
  • This is the story of a group of parents who are rushing to get a Trojan mascot across the Canadian-American border by the end of the week to avoid tariffs, not a mythical monster.
    — Conor Wight, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of mythical
Noun
  • Earlier this year, a Supreme Court decision weakened a core provision of the Voting Rights Act, threatening Black political representation across the South.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The $10,000 is for a retainer for legal representation, North said, and she’s already talked to a lawyer about their concerns.
    — Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of representation

Browse Nearby Words

make away with
make-believe
make believe
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All