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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of make-believe
Ronda Racha Penrice, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2025
The visual style is graphic and minimal — legs are sticks, bodies are basically balls — and Quack’s curmudgeonly disposition provides just the right amount of vinegar, which may be why, long after my daughter has moved out of the neighborhood of make-believe, she’s still entertained by Peep.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 23 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
Jada’s living funeral was a surreal moment for Ross with her make-believe and real emotions colliding, especially with Lattimore, whom she’s grown very close to over their seven-season ride.
—Ronda Racha Penrice, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2025
The visual style is graphic and minimal — legs are sticks, bodies are basically balls — and Quack’s curmudgeonly disposition provides just the right amount of vinegar, which may be why, long after my daughter has moved out of the neighborhood of make-believe, she’s still entertained by Peep.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 23 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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Now draw an imaginary line diagonally through the Dipper's bowl from Dubhe (the upper right star in the bowl) down through Phecda (the lower left star in the bowl) and extend that line downward about twice the distance between those two stars and that will bring you to the vicinity of Cor Caroli.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
8 Oct. 2025
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While their mother is not in the picture, Judy seeks guidance from her boss, Alyson (Megan Mullally), and her imaginary friend, Alanis Morissette (voicing herself), who appears to her in the Northern Lights.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Throughout their time in Greensbury, the family must navigate a variety of events — from new teaching jobs and memorable neighbors to a curious town legend, which may be more fact than fiction, per the book's official synopsis.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
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Unfortunately, the rest of the roster is too big and unskilled, a downstream consequence of buying into the fiction that Davis is a power forward.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Nicolas Cage was rumored to be interested in playing Charlie and his fictitious twin, Donald.—
Susan Orlean,
New Yorker,
11 Oct. 2025
-
However fictitious, these uplifting moments are currently missing from our real-life news cycle.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Students of the program learn in classroom settings as well as a CVS pharmacy simulation that teaches everything from how to run a cash register to medicine stocking, warnings and side effects.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Oct. 2025
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Humanoids often lose balance because their training data comes from videos and simulations.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Then again, even the fictional boarding school for witches and wizards in the Harry Potter series did not have a production line like Barcelona’s academy.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
-
The real John Laroche attended, as well as the fictional one, who was played by Chris Cooper (who later won an Oscar for his portrayal).—
Susan Orlean,
New Yorker,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Meta’s model leaked just two years ago and seeded an ecosystem of imitations and refinements that moved faster than any licensing system.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
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Jane's chimp imitation was an easy choice to hook the average, even mildly interested, reader.—
Ron Arias,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Last year, moments included a violinist perched 15 feet in the air with a cascading 20-foot dress, a crew of mythic horsehead creatures, the Raven, the Jester, Cersei, and Arachnea.—
Jenny Adams,
Southern Living,
12 Oct. 2025
-
His return to offense was almost mythic.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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By carefully analyzing the subtle interactions of these signals, the technology can generate a highly detailed and accurate representation of a person’s presence, posture, and movement that is comparable to a camera snapshot, but constructed entirely from radio waves.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
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The Kurds deserve credit as the bloc that first forced the conversation in Damascus toward decentralization and wider representation.—
Hassan Hassan,
Time,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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