make-believe 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of make-believenext
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination zoomed around the house in a make-believe car

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

make-believe

2 of 3

noun

as in fiction

Synonyms & Similar Words

make believe

3 of 3

phrase

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. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of 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
With its whimsical and slyly subversive sense of humor, the show swiftly attracted an audience beyond its core demographic of preadolescent children, and Ms. Stewart and other members of its cast embraced its anarchic and surreal spirit of make-believe. — Sara Ruberg, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025 Duolingo’s make-believe owl mascot Duo dies by Cybertruck in new TikTok These videos are bringing joy to the internet: Inside 'The Jennifer Hudson Show' Spirit Tunnel Bill to rename Greenland to 'Red, White and Blueland' introduced by Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter What does Presidents Day commemorate? — James Powel, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for make-believe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make-believe
  1. imaginary
  2. fiction
  3. fictitious
  4. simulation
  5. fictional
  6. imitation
  7. mythical
  8. representation
Adjective
  • After the war, that technology, developed by a painfully pretentious guru named Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), was sold to the public as a way of keeping them sedated and immersed in imaginary worlds.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025
  • And now a question for a future newsletter: Do the kids in your life have imaginary friends?
    — Anna North, Vox, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of imaginary
Noun
  • It is now being reissued in a deluxe edition by prestige publisher Folio Society, with illustrations by Doug Bell, occasioning Miéville to sit for an interview looking back at the book’s impact on his career, the cultural influence of speculative fiction, and what’s next for him and his work.
    — Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025
  • But reality is sometimes weirder than fiction, and that’s the case with the recent story about train robberies in the Southwest.
    — Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of fiction
Adjective
  • Morgan & Morgan, the firm that puts up those annoying Philly billboards, was fined after one of their lawyers admitted to using an AI program that generated fictitious case citations in a legal filing.
    — Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Putin cannot refuse a ceasefire, without losing the fictitious moral high ground.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of fictitious
Noun
  • However, newer simulations indicate the trip may have been closer to 2 ½ to four months, Scarpetta said.
    — Julianna Bragg, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
  • The new study's simulations showed roughly one to two supernovae occur each century in galaxies like the Milky Way.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Definition of simulation
Adjective
  • In this mostly fictional version, the reclusive Omara has to decide whether or not to come back from retirement and record with her old colleagues from the fervent Cuban years, thus confronting those ghosts.
    — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2025
  • There is no Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Hopper, Joyce, or the rest of the residents of the fictional Hawkins, Indiana.
    — Marc Berman, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of fictional
Noun
  • The vast majority of the country's motorcycle sector continues to print imitation motorcycles at the most economical possible cost, and even that has become an outdated practice.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Loss of human connection Deepfakes and imitations AI becoming too powerful to manage Smart AI taking over infrastructure Bias and discrimination Some of the other things that researchers found are really different flavors of these broader concerns.
    — John Werner, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
Definition of imitation
Adjective
  • Hamilton achieved most of these minimal brake moments while driving for Mercedes for 12 seasons, except for one out-of-reach trophy: turning seven championship titles into the mythical record-setting eight.
    — Olivia Hicks, NPR, 15 Mar. 2025
  • The furniture collection was inspired by sea life, the mythical sea creatures of Ancient Greece and is composed of the Lorelei armchair and sofa, Ligea coffee tables, Neomeris carpet, Nereide sofa, Ploto low tables, Seidon sofa, Sibelia low tables and Teti pouf.
    — Sofia Celeste, WWD, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of mythical
Noun
  • Those rights include free speech, peaceful protest and criticism of the government, assembly, religious freedom, equal protection under the law, due process, legal representation, privacy, among others.
    — Nisha Whitehead, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2025
  • This on-device encoder compresses input signals (video and audio) into a much smaller latent representation.
    — Wei Duan, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Definition of representation

Browse Nearby Words

make away with
make-believe
make believe
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Cite this Entry

“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

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