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
Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
Fake Wedding follows two broke singles who throw a fake wedding to cash in on the registry and the very real problems the make-believe couple encounters.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 17 Mar. 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
As a bonus, this reusable fake is a fun prop to keep around for make-believe health care provider visits.
—Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
Fake Wedding follows two broke singles who throw a fake wedding to cash in on the registry and the very real problems the make-believe couple encounters.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for make-believe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for make-believe
Adjective
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But what were his motivations for the sculptural cut that reduced the body by a third, literally disabling all of the fetish’s functions except for those of its primary feature, the design, thereby intensifying it, endowing it even with an imaginary, almost futuristic acceleration?—
Benjamin H. D. Buchloh,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
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Dairy farmers should not be the villains in an imaginary climate change narrative - they should be respected as part of the backbone of our state's rural economy and heritage.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 May 2025
Noun
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The title is a reference to Samuel Beckett’s classic play about a pair of drifters stuck waiting for a visitor who never shows, while his blend of fact and fiction takes a page from Gonzo classics like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
29 May 2025
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Is that fact or fiction? North Texas has seen its fair share of rain over the month, including a stormy Memorial Day with 2.15 inches recorded at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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That’s the assessment in Ari Aster’s Eddington, which views that collective national trauma through the microcosm of a fictitious New Mexico small town.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2025
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The trials and tribulations of the fictitious protagonist, however, have precedents.—
Angelica Frey,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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To investigate this phenomenon, this study used eight pre-existing glacier models and ran simulations stretching over centuries, predicting how each glacier will evolve in that timeframe.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
2 June 2025
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Ensuring the accuracy, reliability and transparency of simulations, as well as addressing privacy and ethical considerations, remains essential.—
Cecilia Shen,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Set on the fictional New England island of New Penzance in the 1960s, Sam (Jared Gilman), an emotionally disturbed orphan, and Suzy (Kara Hayward), a sophisticated, yet troubled girl in the vein of Margot Tenenbaum, long to grow up and get away from the chaos that surrounds them.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
30 May 2025
-
Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, self-driving cars — these were all fictional concepts that have since crossed the threshold from imagination to innovation.—
Dete Meserve,
Space.com,
29 May 2025
Noun
-
Competitive advantage lies in differentiation, not imitation.—
Ayo Adepoju,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
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Rare Breed agreed not to develop FRTs for pistols and to enforce its patents to block potentially unsafe imitations.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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What makes the book so extraordinary is that is functions as a de facto catalogue for a mythical Rolex museum, chock full of images of timepieces from every Rolex era, dating to 1908, three years after the brand was founded.—
Victoria Gomelsky,
Robb Report,
26 May 2025
-
The mythical creature is said to be the origin of the first Vietnamese people.—
Jenna Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Here, Sealey and Taylor talk to Deadline about the importance of disability representation in the media and beyond.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
8 June 2025
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Just two awards away from obtaining EGOT status, for over three decades, Foxx has maintained a repertoire of not only staunch professionalism, but also stands as a benefactor of Black male representation in entertainment.—
Ime Ekpo,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Make-believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/make-believe. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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