Synonyms of make-believe

make-believe 1 of 3

adjective

as in imaginary

not real and existing only in the imagination

zoomed around the house in a make-believe car

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imaginary
• fictitious
• mythic
• fictional
• mythical
• fantasied
• fantastical
• imagined
• ideal
• imaginal
• invented
• phantom
• unreal
• fanciful
• pretend
• chimerical
• chimeric
• theoretic
• phantasmal
• theoretical
• notional
• made-up
• phantasmic
• fantastic
• legendary
• visionary
• romantic
• fabulous
• hypothetical
• unlikely
• fabled
• abstract
• illusory
• unconvincing
• unbelievable
• deceptive
• fictive
• envisioned
• hallucinatory
• delusive
• phantasmagoric
• visualized
• delusional
• phantasmagorical
• conceived
• nonexistent
• concocted
• envisaged
• pictured
• feigned
• fabricated
• daydreamlike
• inexistent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• real
• actual
• true
• existing
• genuine
• authentic
• existent
• factual
• realistic
• physical
• convincing
• believable
• verifiable
• substantial
• solid
• corporeal
• tangible
• material
• palpable
• verified

make-believe

2 of 3

noun

as in fiction

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fiction
• simulation
• pretence
• imitation
• representation
• pretense
• affectation
• demonstration
• display
• pose
• likeness
• image
• imposture
• resemblance
• masquerade
• surface
• implication
• suggestion
• façade
• veneer
• mask
• exterior
• insinuation
• hint
• cloak
• disguise
• front
• facade
• shell
• shape
• effect
• gloss
• impression
• air
• patina
• Potemkin village
• seeming
• semblance
• appearance
• name
• show
• guise
• outward
• face

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

• pretend
• assume
• simulate
• pass (for)
• put on
• affect
• act
• sham
• bluff
• counterfeit
• fake
• profess
• pose
• let on
• feign
• forge
• conceal
• dissemble
• play
• masquerade
• imitate
• mask
• camouflage
• disguise
• dissimulate
• playact
• impersonate
• feint
• malinger

Examples of make-believe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Noun

Acting is ultimately unfettered make-believe, and Adams returns to that most basic and essential form of play in her work. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 8 Sep. 2024

Still, what Ana sees on screen will slowly seep into her reality, blurring the division between the fate of the misunderstood monster of make-believe, and the actions of those near to her. —Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2024