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
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of make-believe
Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 13 June 2025
Now four years later, Mr. Musk and his team appear to have found those make-believe people.
—Emily Badger, New York Times, 12 Apr. 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
As make-believe attack drones swarmed, the Marines had to figure out how to bring them down while also jamming the drones with electronic systems and radar to buy time for defense strategies.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 13 June 2025
Now four years later, Mr. Musk and his team appear to have found those make-believe people.
—Emily Badger, New York Times, 12 Apr. 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
-
The soundtrack shifts toward lighter indie rock and away from brain-numbing redundancies, while the story treats those imaginary genre sketches like an accidental off-ramp left in the rearview.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 July 2025
-
The Royal Observatory Greenwich is home to Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian, an imaginary line of longitude, designated as 0 degrees that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
That is why this fiction is not built on facts, but rather on traversing the labyrinths of memory.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
15 July 2025
-
Girl, 1983 is still more deft in its experiments, subverting conventional ideas about fiction’s use of the truth.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
15 July 2025
Adjective
-
Further blurring fact from fiction is this latest approach of trying to capitalize on a TikTok viral moment by having a fictitious creator recite the words of a real creator.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
10 July 2025
-
Senegal just ditched its plans for the singer’s multibillion-dollar smart city in the country, reminiscent of Marvel’s fictitious nation in its Black Panther franchise.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
This preliminary curve was then combined with data derived from fossils of organisms living in a warm or cool environments, simulations of orbital parameters and paleogeographic models, visualizing the distribution of land and sea during different geological periods.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2025
-
In the remaining 20% of the simulations, the common envelope formed in the standard way without the third star contributing.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
The story centers around a die-hard musical theater fan who plays his favorite (fictional) 1920s musical on his record player, bringing the show to life within his apartment.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
14 July 2025
-
The employees of Dunder Mifflin Paper Co.'s Scranton, Pennsylvania, office were filmed for nine seasons by a fictional documentary crew, a plot point that became extremely important in the series' final season.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
Megan Stalter’s challenge here is to come off more like herself and less like an imitation of Dunham, to resist the impulse to do Hannah Horvath in London.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 July 2025
-
The challenge is compounded by the fact that many jurisdictions have weak enforcement mechanisms for intellectual property violations, lengthy legal processes that favor defendants and cultural attitudes that view imitation as legitimate competition rather than theft.—
Mohaimina Haque,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
Its mythical story left an indelible mark on my mind.—
Noel Burgess,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
-
Opened in 2020, the museum features interactive exhibits dedicated to the mythical sea creature.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
13 July 2025
Noun
-
The investigative methods and technical capabilities described are accurate representations.—
Lars Daniel,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
Legal complications now surround the production, with a substantial defamation claim challenging the show’s factual representations.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share