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• make-believe
  make-believe

  noun

  pretense, especially of an innocent or playful kind; playacting; fantasy.
• make believe
  make believe

  verb

  to pretend or enact a fantasy

make-believe

American  

[meyk-bi-leev] / ˈmeɪk bɪˌliv /

noun

1. pretense, especially of an innocent or playful kind; playacting; fantasy.

   the make-believe of children playing.

2. a pretender; a person who pretends.

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adjective

1. pretended; feigned; imaginary; made-up; unreal.

   a make-believe world of fantasy.

make believe British  

verb

1. to pretend or enact a fantasy

   the children made believe they were doctors

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noun

1. 1. a fantasy, pretence, or unreality

   2. ( as modifier )

      a make-believe world

2. a person who pretends

make believe Idioms  

1. Pretend, as in Let's make believe we're elves. This expression in effect means making oneself believe in an illusion. [Early 1700s]

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Etymology

Origin of make-believe

First recorded in 1805–15

Related Words

• fictional
• imaginary
• simulated