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 3phrase
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
as in fiction
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of make-believe
Stephanie Madsen, The Conversation, 22 July 2025
Over the weekend, fan pages salivated over make-believe crossovers and posse cuts, not really considering the prospect of this being purely a solo album.
—Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 21 July 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
Adjective
Solitary play might be a lot more fun if a make-believe teammate could provide an assist, or an invisible coach could appear and shout instructions during practice.
—Stephanie Madsen, The Conversation, 22 July 2025
Over the weekend, fan pages salivated over make-believe crossovers and posse cuts, not really considering the prospect of this being purely a solo album.
—Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 21 July 2025
Phrase
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make-believe
Adjective
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Few characters, real or imaginary, have sustained this type of stage and screen presence for so many decades.—
Michael Taube,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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But Laura, used to getting away with murder, just neglected Daniel’s imaginary corpse after conjuring it.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Although Harold is not literary fiction’s first obsessive ruminator, what makes Muscle Man feel so plugged into the moment is how common the predicament feels.—
Jeremy Gordon,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
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The arrow sequence, though, has a connection to video gaming, recognizably originating in a game called Helldivers 2, a science-fiction narrative similar to Robert Heinlein’s book Starship Troopers that covers fascistic themes.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The mockumentary about a fictitious paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania aired from 2005 to 2013.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The bad news about this fictitious mountainside hole-in-the-wall?—
Tim McGovern,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The platform is initially aimed at game developers, but Dabbagh sees clear applications in film, marketing, simulation and consumer storytelling.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The engineers are now preparing to work with aircraft manufacturers and labs to test full-size models in wind tunnels and crash simulations.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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To respond to a volatile inflation crisis, should the CEO of Burger & Bites, a fictional fast-food chain, introduce dynamic pricing to its restaurants?—
Elie Ofek,
Harvard Business Review,
14 Sep. 2025
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College football fan favorite Fansville, a satirical episodic drama from Dr Pepper set in a fictional college town, is returning for its eighth season.—
Kristi Dosh,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Third-party imitation involves observing interactions between two individuals then faithfully copying those interactions.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
On the control side, the company reports combining reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and linear-actuator torque control so K2 can switch gaits dynamically across complex terrains and sustain a natural, human-like walk.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Nowadays, these routes and addresses can sometimes call to my mind the Camino Real—the old Spanish road lost and buried but commuted upon daily—or that mythic expanse of the Mediterranean where Odysseus lost his way and people live and work to this day.—
Manuel Muñoz,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
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For baseball aficionados, the name Sandy Koufax is almost mythical.—
Steve Futterman,
NPR,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The new location will allow Wiggam Law to support clients outside of downtown Atlanta and directly in Gwinnett County, offering legal services including audit defense, tax litigation, penalty abatement, innocent spouse relief and IRS collections representation.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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That contract, reached after the union leveraged a strike threat in 2024, included coverage of PBS Kids’ animation for the first time and triggered union representation for writers on shows like Molly of Denali and Work It Out Wombats.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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