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
as in fiction
Related Words
make believe
3 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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of make-believe
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
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Feb. 2026
Now, a new study suggests that such make-believe play is not a uniquely human talent, but a skill that great apes also possess.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for make-believe
Adjective
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
Noun
Park Güell is an almost make-believe landscape, home to Barcelona’s famous mosaic lizard—the image on a thousand postcards—plus spiral towers that look like fairground slides.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Feb. 2026
Now, a new study suggests that such make-believe play is not a uniquely human talent, but a skill that great apes also possess.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for make-believe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make-believe
Adjective
-
To find Hydra, first locate the bright stars Chertan and Regulus in the constellation Leo and draw an imaginary line from the former to the latter, extending 20 degrees into open space.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
9 May 2026
-
Artists in the 18th century would often include a person of color, who would sometimes be imaginary, in their portraits of wealthy white sitters to embellish the painting and highlight the high status of the main subject, according to the researchers.—
Amarachi Orie,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
This book has an addictive narrative style that feels more like a fiction thriller than nonfiction.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
-
Apple TV‘s Murderbot blends science-fiction, comedy, human emotion and many more elements, so the music is just as eclectic.—
Fred Topel,
Deadline,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
The novel follows an elderly British couple, Axl and Beatrice, living in a fictional post-Arthurian England in which no one is able to retain long-term memories.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
8 May 2026
-
The actor couldn’t have been further from the halls of a fictional hospital.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
The simulations showed that the collision unfolded in several stages.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
9 May 2026
-
Some people know that there is no human on the other side but say that the simulation of connection and understanding is enough.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
First, Jones submitted fraudulent expense reimbursement requests for fictitious business expenses.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Investigators say the monthly payroll expenses and the number of employees were fictitious and that the documents used to support the monthly income for the companies were false.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The wings on either side of the knot are what came before and what came after, models for what Jefferson wrote and imitations of it.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
That task had required demolition and repression, imitation and invention.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Their stories live on in Sardinian lore with an almost mythical quality, the brigands admired for their intractability.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 2026
-
Komodo dragons were nearly mythical creatures until the first detailed field study was conducted by Walter Auffenberg in the late 1960s.—
Craig Stanford,
Big Think,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Is there an extra responsibility toward representation when casting media that purports to represent reality versus casting something scripted?—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
7 May 2026
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The system converts facial images into a unique numerical representation tied to your account rather than storing raw photos long term.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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