make-believe
noun
pretense, especially of an innocent or playful kind; playacting; fantasy.
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make-believe
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make believe
make believeverbto pretend or enact a fantasy
make-believe
American
[meyk-bi-leev]
/ ˈmeɪk bɪˌliv /
noun
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pretense, especially of an innocent or playful kind; playacting; fantasy.
the make-believe of children playing.
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a pretender; a person who pretends.
adjective
make believe
British
verb
noun
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a fantasy, pretence, or unreality
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( as modifier )
a make-believe world
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a person who pretends
make believe
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of make-believe
First recorded in 1805–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But make-believe can only get one so far when the real world keeps intruding.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Performing and make-believe eased my anxieties. I was able to step outside of myself,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
Yabloko was for decades a core part of this make-believe politics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
And with every request comes an unspoken plea for understanding, no matter how far into the land of make-believe they’re asking to be led.
From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2026
Her parents’ love story sounded as magical as Uncle Darnell’s stories, except Düsseldorf wasn’t a make-believe place, and Frieda’s parents were real.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Bitcoin might be make believe, but it’s also the center of speculative activity in financial markets.
From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025
How do you tap into that when you’re in the make believe world of “The Diplomat,” shooting the third season, in the run-up to the election?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024
“I’m begging you, Michael, I’m begging you, try to make believe this is not just madness, because this is not just madness,” the voice pleads, pitch modulating and then oscillating through steadiness to vexation.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2023
“And just make believe and playing. And then on a personal level, I think I learned how to be myself … that everyone would accept me for who I was.”
From Washington Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
The way it was, I could make believe that my baby’s mother might like me.
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
