make believe

verb

To pretend or imagine.

“Let's make believe that we are explorers.”

Similar
make pretendmakepretendfeignsham
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Meanings

verbmake believe (third-person singular simple present makes believe, present participle making believe, simple past and past participle made believe)

present singular third person makes believe · participle present making believe · participle past made believe · past made believe

  1. childishidiomaticTo pretend or imagine.

    Let's make believe that we are explorers.

    1 more example

    Only make believe I love you, / Only make believe that you love me. / Others find peace of mind in pretending, / Couldn’t you? / Couldn’t I? / Couldn’t we? / Make believe our lips are blending / In a phantom kiss, or two, or three. / Might as well make believe I love you, / For to tell the truth I do.

    1927, Oscar Hammerstein II, Show Boat

    Synonyms: make pretend

nounmake believe (countable and uncountable, plural make believes)

plural make believes

  1. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative form of make-believe.
adjectivemake believe (comparative more make believe, superlative most make believe)

comparative more make believe · superlative most make believe

  1. Imaginary; conjured in someone's imagination, especially that of a child.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo pretend or imagine.

Similar
make pretend

More synonyms by meaning

verbrepresent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like

Similar
makepretendfeignsham
Broader
actplayrepresent
Also see
affectdissemblefeignmakemake pretendpretendsham

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Bulgarian преструвам се
  • преструвам се (prestruvam se)to pretend
Catalan fer veure
  • fer veureto pretend
French imaginer
  • imaginerto pretend
German so tun, als ob
  • so tun, als obto pretend
Māori whakangaio, whakatakune
  • whakangaioto pretend
  • whakatakuneto pretend
Norwegian Bokmål late som, late som om
  • late somto pretend
  • late som omto pretend
Portuguese fazer de conta
  • fazer de contato pretend
Spanish hacer de cuenta
  • hacer de cuentato pretend
Cite this entry
APA

make believe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20believe

MLA

“make believe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20believe. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “make believe,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20believe.

Source: make believe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.