make out

1 to meet one's day-to-day needs we're not rich, but we're making out all right Synonyms cope, do, fare, get by, get on, get along, manage, shiftRelated Words carry on, contrive, scrape (by or through), scrounge; last, survive; eke out, scrape (out), squeeze, wrest, wring; afford, swingNear Antonyms collapse, fail, fall short, fizzle, flounder; decline, peter (out), slump, wane; give up

2 to have a clear idea of I can't quite make out what she is trying to say Synonyms appreciate, apprehend, assimilate, behold, catch, catch on (to), cognize, compass, conceive, cotton (to or on to), decipher, decode, dig, discern, get, grasp, grok, intuit, know, make, comprehend, perceive, recognize, register, savvy, see, seize, sense, tumble (to), twig, understandRelated Words absorb, digest, take in; realize; fathom, penetrate, pierceNear Antonyms misapprehend, misconceive, misconstrue, misinterpret, misperceive, misread, mistake, misunderstandAntonyms miss

3 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 dissemble, dissimulate, let on, pretendRelated Words act, impersonate, masquerade, play, playact, pose; affect, assume, counterfeit, fake, feign, profess, put on, sham, simulate; camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask; bluff, feint

4 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 conclude, decide, deduce, derive, extrapolate, gather, judge, infer, reason, understandRelated Words assume, suppose; conjecture, guess, speculate, surmise; construe, interpret, read; contemplate, philosophize, rationalize, think; ascertain, dope (out), find out