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
Lynnette Nicholas, Parents, 15 Jan. 2025
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
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
One thing, though: If Barney is supposed to be make-believe, how are each of the kids imagining him the same way and having the same experience?
—Lynnette Nicholas, Parents, 15 Jan. 2025
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
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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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
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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
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
-
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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The unique program featured hands-on activities such as Mars robotics, space settlement simulations, and portable planetarium sessions, making the program engaging and accessible to diverse youth across nationalities.—
Lauren Carpenter,
USA TODAY,
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
-
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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Data is the backbone of any AI solution, but most AI models are trained with existing datasets that lack representation of diverse groups.—
Pradeep Kumar Muthukamatchi,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
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As a result, Abbasi has separated from his U.S. representatives at Creative Arts Agency, Entertainment 360, and the law firm of Granderson Des Rochers, but still retains UK representation through Lark Management.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
21 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 24 Feb. 2025.
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