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
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Recent Examples of make-believe
Vulture Editors, Vulture, 23 July 2025
Solitary play might be a lot more fun if a make-believe teammate could provide an assist, or an invisible coach could appear and shout instructions during practice.
—Stephanie Madsen, The Conversation, 22 July 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
The visual style is graphic and minimal — legs are sticks, bodies are basically balls — and Quack’s curmudgeonly disposition provides just the right amount of vinegar, which may be why, long after my daughter has moved out of the neighborhood of make-believe, she’s still entertained by Peep.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 23 July 2025
Solitary play might be a lot more fun if a make-believe teammate could provide an assist, or an invisible coach could appear and shout instructions during practice.
—Stephanie Madsen, The Conversation, 22 July 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
-
Few characters, real or imaginary, have sustained this type of stage and screen presence for so many decades.—
Michael Taube,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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But Laura, used to getting away with murder, just neglected Daniel’s imaginary corpse after conjuring it.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Good historians and talented fiction writers can tease out human qualities from such personages while acknowledging their fundamental distance from our own time.—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
-
People feel free to throw out the first, poorly-thought-out, vacuous reaction to any news story — whether based in fact or fiction, and regardless of negative consequences.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The fictitious play would suffer the kind of malchance that builds momentum, gains form, enslaves a story to its premise.—
Lauren Rothery,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Tyriq Withers stars as Cameron Cade, a disciplined athlete who has a shot at playing in a fictitious national league that absolutely is not the NFL.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The platform is initially aimed at game developers, but Dabbagh sees clear applications in film, marketing, simulation and consumer storytelling.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The engineers are now preparing to work with aircraft manufacturers and labs to test full-size models in wind tunnels and crash simulations.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But all characters and events portrayed are fictional.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Created by Oscar winner Callie Khouri, the series tracks the tangled personal and professional lives of fictional country stars navigating fame, rivalries, and the high-stakes world of Music City.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Third-party imitation involves observing interactions between two individuals then faithfully copying those interactions.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
On the control side, the company reports combining reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and linear-actuator torque control so K2 can switch gaits dynamically across complex terrains and sustain a natural, human-like walk.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Nowadays, these routes and addresses can sometimes call to my mind the Camino Real—the old Spanish road lost and buried but commuted upon daily—or that mythic expanse of the Mediterranean where Odysseus lost his way and people live and work to this day.—
Manuel Muñoz,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
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For baseball aficionados, the name Sandy Koufax is almost mythical.—
Steve Futterman,
NPR,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In an industry notorious for poor fit and lack of inclusivity, SNAG proves that sustainable products can also deliver comfort, durability, and representation.—
Dianne Plummer,
Forbes.com,
20 Sep. 2025
-
John’s theory — that the agrarian plots of Hawaii’s prized plant is the physical representation of a game board — is the idea that life itself sprung into abundance because of play.—
Matt Negrin,
Rolling Stone,
20 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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