make-be·lieve
ˈmāk-bə-ˌlēv 
variants
or less commonly make-belief
: a pretending that what is not real is real
a fiction writer's childish willingness to immerse himself in make-believe—
John Updike
John UpdikeSynonyms
Examples of make-believe in a Sentence
Adjective
zoomed around the house in a make-believe car
Recent Examples on the Web
Teju Cole, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025
From the boy’s mother, police learned that Dallas had recently developed an interest in a game in which players assumed the roles of fantastical heroes who slew monsters and uncovered lost treasures through a combination of dice rolls and make-believe.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
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 
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Noun
There is nothing make-believe about the fires, or the silhouetted human figures who flee from or confront them.
—Teju Cole, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025
From the boy’s mother, police learned that Dallas had recently developed an interest in a game in which players assumed the roles of fantastical heroes who slew monsters and uncovered lost treasures through a combination of dice rolls and make-believe.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for make-believe
Dictionary Entries Near make-believe
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make-believe. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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