make-believe
[ meyk-bi-leev ]
/ ˈmeɪk bɪˌliv /
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noun
pretense, especially of an innocent or playful kind; feigning; sham: 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.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.
Question 1 of 7
Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
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. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for make-believe
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
Idioms and Phrases with make-believe
make believe
Pretend, as in Let's make believe we're elves. This expression in effect means making oneself believe in an illusion. [Early 1700s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.