make-believe

[ meyk-bi-leev ]

/ ˈmeɪk bɪˌliv /

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noun

pretense, especially of an innocent or playful kind; playacting; fantasy: the make-believe of children playing.

a pretender; a person who pretends.

adjective

pretended; feigned; imaginary; made-up; unreal: a make-believe world of fantasy.

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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

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Origin of make-believe

First recorded in 1805–15

Words nearby make-believe

make away, make away with, Makeba, make bail, makebate, make-believe, make bold, make book, make bricks without straw, make capital out of, make conversation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use make-believe in a sentence

People watch night soaps because the genre allows them to believe in a world where people just react off their baser instincts.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Genetics alone does not an eating disorder make, generally speaking, and Bulik points out that environment still plays a role.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And yes, our values include tolerance of those who wish to make fun of religion.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The court ruled she lacked the maturity to make her own medical decisions.
Should Teens Have The Right To Die?|Brandy Zadrozny|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

And it must make sure that the platform of debate where we can freely exchange ideas is safe and sound.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And to tell the truth, she couldn't help wishing he could see, so he could make the game livelier.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
She did not need a great cook-book; She knew how much and what it took To make things good and sweet and light.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
He did believe you, more or less, and what you said fell in with his own impressions—strange impressions that they were, poor man!
Confidence|Henry James
I believe that these are ideal characters constructed from still more ancient legends and traditions.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
Now this setting up of an orderly law-abiding self seems to me to imply that there are impulses which make for order.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for make-believe

make believe

verb

to pretend or enact a fantasythe children made believe they were doctors

noun make-believe

a fantasy, pretence, or unreality
(as modifier)a make-believe world

a person who pretends

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with make-believe