Synonyms of makes out

makes out

verb

present tense third-person singular of make out

1

as in copes

to meet one's day-to-day needs

we're not rich, but we're making out all right

Synonyms & Similar Words

• copes
• does
• makes do
• manages
• makes shift
• gets along
• gets by
• gets on
• survives
• makes ends meet
• fares
• shifts
• carries on
• affords
• ekes out
• fends for oneself
• scrapes (by or through)
• lasts
• contrives
• scrounges
• scrapes (out)
• wrings
• squeezes
• wrests
• swings

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• falls short
• fails
• collapses
• declines
• wanes
• flounders
• slumps
• fizzles
• gives up
• peters (out)

2

as in knows

to have a clear idea of

I can't quite make out what she is trying to say

Synonyms & Similar Words

• knows
• understands
• recognizes
• sees
• deciphers
• comprehends
• appreciates
• grasps
• gets
• catches on (to)
• tumbles (to)
• makes
• realizes
• perceives
• senses
• conceives
• discerns
• picks up on
• intuits
• cottons (to or on to)
• beholds
• seizes
• assimilates
• twigs
• registers
• apprehends
• takes in
• digs
• catches
• decodes
• cognizes
• savvies
• groks
• absorbs
• compasses
• digests
• penetrates
• pierces
• fathoms

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• misses
• mistakes
• misunderstands
• misinterprets
• misreads
• misconceives
• misconstrues
• misperceives
• misapprehends

3

as in pretends

to take on a false or deceptive appearance

he tried to make out that he didn't mind losing his job, but friends suspected he was desperately worried

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pretends
• makes a show
• makes believe
• makes a pretense
• lets on
• dissimulates
• poses
• puts up a front
• puts on an act
• dissembles
• acts
• plays
• affects
• simulates
• masquerades
• puts on
• feigns
• assumes
• playacts
• professes
• conceals
• impersonates
• masks
• camouflages
• disguises
• shams
• fakes
• counterfeits
• bluffs
• feints

4

as in derives

to form an opinion or reach a conclusion through reasoning and information

as best as I can make out, the police were informed of the incident but didn't think it was worth investigating

Synonyms & Similar Words

• derives
• understands
• decides
• concludes
• infers
• judges
• reasons
• thinks
• extrapolates
• draws a conclusion
• deduces
• assumes
• guesses
• speculates
• reads
• supposes
• gathers
• finds out
• ascertains
• interprets
• contemplates
• surmises
• construes
• conjectures
• rationalizes
• philosophizes
• dopes (out)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of makes out

The contemporary media environment makes out-and-out suppression of a book difficult. — Sophia Nguyen, The Atlantic, 18 July 2026

Even Fraser makes out with Rainbeau and Damo. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2025