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
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
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
Adjective
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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
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And now a question for a future newsletter: Do the kids in your life have imaginary friends?—
Anna North,
Vox,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This all reads like an exciting piece of fiction involving a legendary object, hidden away and guarded by strange forces.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
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Beguiling blends of fiction and nonfiction are the highlights of this year’s edition of the New Directors/New Films series, at Film at Lincoln Center and MOMA, April 2-13.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Putin cannot refuse a ceasefire, without losing the fictitious moral high ground.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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However, newer simulations indicate the trip may have been closer to 2 ½ to four months, Scarpetta said.—
Julianna Bragg,
CNN,
21 Mar. 2025
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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
Adjective
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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
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Here are our 25 favorite pairs of fictional best friends from movies and TV.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
EW.com,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Adjective
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This sends him on a high-stakes journey to find the mythical Last Wish, a fabled star that can restore his lost lives.—
Jane LaCroix,
People.com,
29 Mar. 2025
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Begins at noon April 13, Steinmetz Hall, free ‘The Last Firefly’: Naomi Iizuka’s play for young audiences combines Japanese fairy tales and folklore to tell the mythical tale of Boom, the son of Thunder, who must confront the forces of nature in a blend of magic, courage and wonder.—
Matthew J. Palm,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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This on-device encoder compresses input signals (video and audio) into a much smaller latent representation.—
Wei Duan,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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