as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
zoomed around the house in a make-believe car
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Literary Hub, 10 July 2025
Millennials may remember Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen’s colorful Magic School Bus books, which offered children make-believe field trips to hard-to-reach places: the Milky Way Galaxy, the bottom of Earth’s oceans, and the organs of the human body, just to name a few.
—Jessica George, JSTOR Daily, 25 June 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
Once the seeds escape their pods, they are kept in a cold and wet place, inside a make-believe botanical womb, before they are returned to the soil under the earth’s natural heat.
—Literary Hub, 10 July 2025
Millennials may remember Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen’s colorful Magic School Bus books, which offered children make-believe field trips to hard-to-reach places: the Milky Way Galaxy, the bottom of Earth’s oceans, and the organs of the human body, just to name a few.
—Jessica George, JSTOR Daily, 25 June 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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Another transforms her into the enigmatic hostess of an imaginary cabaret, a nod to her Broadway performance in 2014.—
Elizabeth Grace Coyne,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Human rights, utopias, interracial love, ambition, war and betrayal are the ingredients of this film crafted with archival images and an imaginary diary shot on 16mm film that expresses all the modernity of Cabral’s vision of the world.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The extended edit period, along with reshoots, meant that things in the real world changed during the work on the film, blurring the lines between fact and fiction.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Aug. 2025
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Through video, documents, and a haunting scenographic installation, the exhibition becomes a space between fact and fiction.—
Lee Sharrock,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The trailer is the latest installment in the film’s unique marketing campaign, which has featured seemingly authentic advertisements for the fictitious Rental Family Agency’s unique services.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
5 Aug. 2025
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For security purposes, ministry members use pseudonyms, usually their first name and a fictitious last name, and all mail comes to the church address at 400 East Westminster in Lake Forest.—
Gina Grillo,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
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By unifying intelligence, manufacturers can run simulations, identify vulnerabilities, and respond proactively—protecting digital and sustainability gains even in turbulent periods.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Inside a simulation that wants something from you and gives back magic in return.—
Bob Bonniol,
Rolling Stone,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Run every business decision by this fictional person, and make sure your team do it too.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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So he’s come up with a fresh approach that’s reminiscent of it but is different enough and works: the fictional true-crime documentary.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Glock pistols and its imitations lend themselves to these modifications and the vulnerability applies to most models.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
1 Aug. 2025
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There's support for NVIDIA's Deep Reinforcement Learning environment, as well as imitation learning, for easy access to Isaac Gym training.—
Paul Ridden
July 25,
New Atlas,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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Penned by renowned sommelier Enrico Bernardo, Wine & Travel Mediterranean Islands traverses the region’s mythical places where wine, culture and nature meet.—
Kissa Castaneda,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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McDonald’s is celebrating the revitalization of the mythical world with an all-new McDonaldland Meal, available starting August 12.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Modeling Reality Without Disruption A digital twin creates a virtual representation of your identity ecosystem, spanning both OT and IT systems.—
Peter Hill,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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The tablescape—bright with placemats and menus inspired by vintage TV color bars—paid homage to the aesthetics of broadcast history, highlighting themes around Black life, consumerism, and media representation, all central to Adams’ practice.—
Skylar Mitchell,
Essence,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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