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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If a planet is visible from the night side of Earth, it can only ever be seen along an imaginary path through the sky called the ecliptic.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
-
Monday’s victory was only a month and a week removed from one of the more embarrassing losses of the Knicks season, an NBA Cup quarterfinal loss Young punctuated by rolling a set of imaginary die on The Garden’s center-court logo.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
21 Jan. 2025
Noun
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While historical fiction can be illuminating, this drama is dangerously misleading.—
Barbara A. Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
-
The film, which combines fiction and non-fiction elements, has been pursued by other festivals but was only recently completed.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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It’s described as a biopic, but Peppiatt admits some parts of the story are fictitious.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
23 Jan. 2025
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Detectives also found that Labelle allegedly altered several documents and provided the homeowner with fictitious receipts to deceive them, according to Riley.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Of course, the simulation itself can’t be brought to the digital marketing world (not yet, at least), but the excitement of getting consumers to engage, personalize and create dream cars with a few screen taps is no longer a distant fantasy.—
Michael Della Penna,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
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Next up is Blender, an open-source 3D content creation suite for modeling, animation, simulation, and compositing.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Ukraine is a fictional state...the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.—
Maya Mehrara,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
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Terms & Conditions, a kinetic blend of a fictional Afro-futurist narrative, archival research on decades of Black visual and multimedia work, and personal history.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
29 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Jones saunters to the middle of the cage, shimmying his hips and arms in an imitation of Trump’s signature shuffle-dance.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
14 Jan. 2025
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But Yakin’s script is no imitation; this is a smart, sensitive story of a young drug runner (Sean Nelson) who uses the chess strategies taught to him by his absentee father (Samuel L. Jackson) to double-cross his employer (Giancarlo Esposito).—
Jason Bailey,
New York Times,
30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
According to the folklore, a mythical beast would come and devour villagers and livestock each Chinese New Year, but the beast was afraid of loud noises and the color red.—
Claire Hoppe Norgaard,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Jan. 2025
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Villagers dressed as cranes, roosters and mythical lions pose for portraits standing amid crops or in fallow farmland.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
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That authentic representation has been praised in a region full of diversity.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
28 Jan. 2025
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Turbulence can be measured by the eddy dissipation rate (EDR), a numerical representation of the intensity of the turbulence.—
Barbara A. Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 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 2 Feb. 2025.
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