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:
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
Though only about seven minutes, each core “Bluey” episode unfolds patiently, often centered on make-believe, wonder and childlike ingenuity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2026
I understood from the start that acting was make-believe and that it put food on the table and shoes on our feet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
As long as Hegseth keeps his chest-thumping and pull-up contests in the land of make-believe, these men are happy.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2026
He smooths it out, and puts it on his head as a make-believe hat.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
Bitcoin might be make believe, but it’s also the center of speculative activity in financial markets.
From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025
It was Hollywood make believe, a phony fire created for the filming of a movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024
“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
An only child, young Julia devoured books and lost herself in make believe.
From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2022
We’d make believe twist the rope around a cleet.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
