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
as in fiction
Synonyms & Similar 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
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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
Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
Real life and make-believe merged in Nicholas Hoult's daring on-screen escape.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 25 Dec. 2024
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
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
Real life and make-believe merged in Nicholas Hoult's daring on-screen escape.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 25 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for make-believe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make-believe
Adjective
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That’s when Cora fired up some kind of imaginary jukebox inside his head and proceeded to dance the day away.—
Steve Buckley,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
-
Gradually, an imaginary narrative for the property took shape.—
Blaine Davis,
New York Times,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The executive brings 34 years of industry experience, including 29 years at Sony, with expertise spanning sales, content strategy, and programming across films, music, fiction, and non-fiction entertainment.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
10 Feb. 2025
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Robinson started out making films, but quickly transitioned to painting, translating the noirish women and gun-toting men of pulp fiction to canvas.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Created by Chris Romano and Eric Falconer, who also are believed to be back for the sequel, Blue Mountain State is about a fictitious university, Blue Mountain State, and its football team, the Mountain Goats.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2025
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Last month, its editor revealed that A.I. had been used to tweak the Hungarian accents of its stars, Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, and to create fictitious architectural plans and buildings for the closing retrospective of the main character’s career.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In our simulation, the Tennessee Titans selected Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders at No. 1, while the Cleveland Browns took Sanders’ teammate, Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.—
Charlotte Carroll,
The Athletic,
13 Feb. 2025
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While the study used 2D models of the shockwaves, more complex, 3D simulations are needed to fully capture how the club’s structure works, adds Espinosa in the statement.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Ferrell is on the cowbell, and fictional music producer Bruce Dickinson’s (Christopher Walken) gotta have more cowbell, baby.—
Tony Maglio,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2025
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But the film was fictional, largely focusing on the perspective of U.S. soldiers.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
TIME,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Eddie Murphy, who once rescued Saturday Night Live during a rough patch in the 1980s, rescued a sketch in the show’s 50th anniversary special with a note-perfect imitation of Tracy Morgan.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2025
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From frame one, Bob Dylan, the creation, the idea, the trickster, the lone wolf, without attitude or affectation, your Dylan was no imitation.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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One day, all of these mascots will seem as laughable — and as bigoted — as my mythical rabbi for the Brooklyn Jews.—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
New York Daily News,
9 Feb. 2025
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Its friezes depict a procession of gods, warriors, and mythical animals; its metopes, single panels within the larger frieze, narrate mythological battles of the Athenians against the Amazonians and the Centaurs, alluding to the Greco-Persian wars.—
Ralph Leonard,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
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However, the Penguins will have representation in any decision as their hockey president and general manager Kyle Dubas is an assistant GM for Canada.—
Rob Rossi,
The Athletic,
9 Feb. 2025
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Some critics have written about the limits of this kind of representation.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
7 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near make-believe
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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