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
show current usage.
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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
Faith Salie, CBS News, 7 Dec. 2025
That’s just completely make-believe.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2025
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
Jan Karon, the 88-year-old author behind Mitford, has written 15 books about the make-believe mountain village.
—Faith Salie, CBS News, 7 Dec. 2025
That’s just completely make-believe.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for make-believe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make-believe
Adjective
-
Your brain treats heartbreak like a physical injury That crushing feeling in your chest isn’t imaginary.—
Kyra Dahring,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Lugers tilt to an imaginary track.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
For a generation raised on viral clips of air‑rage fights and customer‑service meltdowns, the quiet order of a Japanese train car—no loud phone calls, no overflowing trash—reads almost like aspirational fiction.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Ginger Strand Ginger Strand is an American author of nonfiction and fiction.—
Natalia Sánchez Loayza,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The difference between documentary approaches and fictional approaches to a musical figure — at heart, there’s no difference at all.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
-
But in a first for Marvel, Abdul-Mateen II was not there as himself, but rather in character as Simon Williams to discuss the fictional Wonder Man movie that is central to season one of the Disney+ show.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The team evaluated both cell types using an I-V tester, wafer metrology system, transmission electron microscopy, and simulation software.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
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That milestone makes Bolt the fastest running humanoid robot of its size ever demonstrated outside computer simulations.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Comulate also invented a fictitious insurance agent named Jordan Bates, who purported to work for PBC and who interacted with Applied Systems salespeople through email (with a Phoenix Benefits email domain) to create a customer account on Applied’s Epic.—
John Hyatt,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Somewhere between folk art and statement home decor, this four-panel imitation of an impressionist oil painting says a thing or two about your knack for putting a room together.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
5 Feb. 2026
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But Baehren and Carvalho pointed out that these behaviors, which took place rarely and in captivity, might only be imitations of human communication.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The series follows a teenage boy who forms an unlikely alliance with the Fairy Queen of Celtic lore to search for malevolent mythical creatures from around the world, among them the Yeti, Baba Yaga and a Lady Dracula — not to destroy them, but to save them from impending doom.—
Ed Meza,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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Jones portrays the fierce warrior Prince Vlad of Wallachia, who goes on to become the mythical Dracula.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Could artificial intelligence help people who lack access to legal representation in Georgia’s rural counties?—
Shaddi Abusaid,
AJC.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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The main attraction, though, was on the stage as legends from the sports world talked about why representation matters to them.—
Andrea Nakano,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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