MAKES OUT Synonyms: 138 Similar and Opposite Words

makes out

verb

present tense third-person singular of make out

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in knows

to have a clear idea of I can't quite make out what she is trying to say

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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

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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for makes out

Verb

An event can cause great pain to one person while another copes with it much better.

— Roberto Prieto, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
Hollis buries herself in work in an attempt to escape her complicated grief, while aspiring filmmaker Caroline copes by making snarky remarks and bristling at her mom's efforts to connect.

— Clarissa Cruz, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026

Definition of copes

Verb

Oscar-winning DoP Greig Fraser knows a thing or two about working on challenging movies, from Dune to The Batman, Rogue One to Zero Dark Thirty.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2026
But the tragedy conceals something nobody knows, and the falsehoods about Jung-hyun keep growing.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of knows

Verb

Everyone pretends the films were chosen purely on merit, but the slate often reads Hollywood with a lanyard and a conscience.

— Joseph Kahn, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Here, sometimes you get invited to dinner very quickly, and then, two years later, the person pretends not to know you anymore on the street.

— Baptiste Mandrillon, Time, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of pretends

Verb

FirstDate primarily derives those preferences from questionnaires.

— Matthew Tan, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026
The power of prediction markets derives precisely from sucking our attention toward what’s speculable—incentivizing the networked crowd to separate signal from noise at scale.

— Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of derives

Verb

My job is to challenge whether the decision actually does that.

— Ray R. Harris, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026
While Pacific Neon now largely does LED sign work, reflecting a broad shift in the sign industry, veteran hands like Uroff, 70, can serve a valuable purpose when needed.

— Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of does

Verb

Cybersecurity specialist Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) decides to turn whistleblower upon discovering that the US government has been suppressing evidence of extra-terrrestrial life, as part of a cover-up that goes back decades.

— Tom Bailey, Space.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Then Sean moves away and grows up to become a spy who, after wrapping up a mission involving smuggling a nuclear warhead for reasons unknown, decides to pay an impromptu visit to his tweenage buddies.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of decides

Verb

Mousquetaires Group, which runs the Intermarche chain, has indicated that a Danish company, Danfoss, manages the affected refrigerators.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
Fox Entertainment Global holds domestic distribution rights to Baywatch and Fremantle manages all international sales.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026