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I'm foremost an actor. I feel embarrassed being compared to the guys who really work at it. I fake it, I make believe I know all about it, which is what you're supposed to do as an actor.
Lloyd Bridges

Meaning of "make believe" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF MAKE BELIEVE

make believe play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF MAKE BELIEVE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Make believe is a verb and can also act as a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

WHAT DOES MAKE BELIEVE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Make believe

Make believe is a loosely structured form of role-playing that generally has no rules except to stay in character, and requires no specific props. It is normally restricted to young, pre-pubescent children, and aside from its straightforward purpose of fun can sometimes also serve the purpose of allowing children to explore adult roles and relationships. Make believe play can reveal a great deal about a child's psychological state, perception of gender roles, home life and interpretation of the world that is around them.

Definition of make believe in the English dictionary

The first definition of make believe in the dictionary is to pretend or enact a fantasy. Other definition of make believe is a fantasy, pretence, or unreality. Make believe is also a person who pretends.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE MAKE BELIEVE

make a point of
make a production out of
make a thing of
make a virtue of necessity
make after
make allowances
make an exhibition of oneself
make an honest woman of
make away
make away with
make capital of
make certain of
make common cause with
make conversation
make do
make ducks and drakes of
make ends meet
make eyes
make eyes at
make fish of one and flesh of another

WORDS THAT END LIKE MAKE BELIEVE

achieve
believe
disbelieve
grieve
make-believe
memory like a sieve
misbelieve
molecular sieve
nieve
overachieve
relieve
reprieve
retrieve
rieve
shrieve
sieve
slieve
thieve
unbelieve
underachieve

Synonyms and antonyms of make believe in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «MAKE BELIEVE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «make believe» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of make believe

Translation of «make believe» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF MAKE BELIEVE

Find out the translation of make believe to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of make believe from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «make believe» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

让我相信
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

hacer creer
570 millions of speakers

English

make believe
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

विश्वास दिलाएं
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

جعل نعتقد
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

воплощая мечты
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

fazer crer
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

বিশ্বাস করুন
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

faire croire
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Buat percaya
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Vorspiegelung
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

信じ作る
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

믿게
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Nggawe pracaya
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

làm tin
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

நம்புங்கள்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

विश्वास ठेवा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

inandırmak
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

far credere
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

Fikcja
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

втілюючи мрії
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

face de crezut
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

κάνει να θεωρήσει
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

laat glo
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

gör tro
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

Make Believe
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of make believe

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «MAKE BELIEVE»

The term «make believe» is quite widely used and occupies the 37.373 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
83
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «make believe» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of make believe
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «make believe».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «MAKE BELIEVE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «make believe» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «make believe» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about make believe

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «MAKE BELIEVE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word make believe.
1
Alexis Arquette
I want parents out there to know that it's totally natural for kids to make believe and play games. It does not mean your child is going to be transgendered. And even if it were true, why is it such a horrible thing?
2
Eric Bogosian
It's a mental fake-out to myself. I make believe I'm making a new show so I forget the material I was working on and make up some fresh material.
3
Lloyd Bridges
I'm foremost an actor. I feel embarrassed being compared to the guys who really work at it. I fake it, I make believe I know all about it, which is what you're supposed to do as an actor.
4
Emily Browning
I'm a massive daydreamer. I'm constantly lost within my own fantasies and my own thoughts personally, and I think maybe that is sort of represented in what we do for a living, the fact that we make believe everything and we escape into these other characters for a living.
5
David Canary
There's a great deal of child left in me and acting is fun. It's a make believe thing.
6
Allen Covert
I've never been called quiet about anything in my life. However, I'm also not one of those people who thinks that because I have been moderately successful at playing make believe for a living that I am supposed to tell you who to vote for.
7
Sung Kang
Sometimes idealism and all that make believe makes the world a better place.
8
Stephen Leacock
Now, the essence, the very spirit of Christmas is that we first make believe a thing is so, and lo, it presently turns out to be so.
9
NeNe Leakes
I love becoming a character outside of who I am. Even when I was a little girl, I loved make believe, so I like it.
10
Anson Mount
For me, acting is play. It's just play and it's playing make believe really, really well.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «MAKE BELIEVE»

Discover the use of make believe in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to make believe and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Minders of Make-believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the ...
Examines the dramatic changes that occurred in children's literature during the twentieth century, the growth and impact of major publishing houses, the influence of key publishing figures, and the contributions of pioneering editors, ...
Leonard S. Marcus, 2008
2
Mimesis as Make-believe: On the Foundations of the ...
Walton presents here a theory of the nature of representation which illuminates its many varieties and goes a long way toward explaining its importance.
Kendall L. Walton, 1990
3
The Culture of Make Believe
Derrick Jensen takes no prisoners in The Culture of Make Believe, his brilliant and eagerly awaited follow-up to his powerful and lyrical A Language Older Than Words.
Derrick Jensen, 2004
4
Make Believe
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.
H. D. Lowry, 2010
5
The Make-Believe Space: Affective Geography in a Postwar Polity
Looks at the Turkish territory of Northern Cyprus, a self-defined state, which is actually imaginary (because it is only recognized by Turkey).
Yael Navaro-Yashin, 2012
6
Only make believe: my life in show business
His other notable films included The War Wagon, Calamity Jane, Kiss Me Kate, Jupiter's Darling, and Kismet." "Only Make Believe is the frank memoir of a huge film star and a stand-up guy.
Howard Keel, Joyce Spizer, 2005
7
The Case For Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World
In The Case for Make Believe, Harvard child psychologist Susan Linn tells the alarming story of childhood under siege in a commercialized and technology-saturated world.
Susan Linn, 2013
8
Magnate's Make-Believe Mistress
Her new client was devilishly handsome, superbly charming...and absolutely hiding something.
Bronwyn Jameson, 2009
9
Make Believe
A collection of applique designs, in children's favorite themes, used as quilt and pillow sets.
‎2008
10
Make Believe: A True Story
In Make Believe, Diana Athill, acclaimed author of Instead of a Letter and Stet, remembers her turbulent friendship with Hakim Jamal, a young black convert to the teachings of Malcolm X, whom she met in London in the late 1960s.
Diana Athill, 2012

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «MAKE BELIEVE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term make believe is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Relieve The Duties Of A Letter: Make Believe, And Make It Better …
On-air challenge: Today's puzzle has a bit of wordplay. Change one letter in each word provided to make two new words. The letter you change ... «WCBE 90.5 FM, Jul 15»
2
Phil Willmott: Here's why a new generation of directors is too scared …
... and the whole country valuing the performing arts and nightly wanting to hand over their hard-earned cash to watch us playing make believe. «The Stage, Jul 15»
3
Liberty movement needs more innovations to counter police state …
... be a localized barter economy in which people must develop ways to produce, rather than play make believe with digital cryptocurrencies. «Personal Liberty Digest, Jul 15»
4
There's nothing pretty about being the mother of a toddler …
Not just make believe angry or curiosity-inducing anger, but the real deal. She cried, and I cried. But I didn't comfort her. I couldn't' bring myself ... «BabyCenter, Jul 15»
5
Summer activities for kids and families | Week of July 20 …
The Please Touch Museum holds Make Art, Make Science, Make Believe! on Thursday evenings. Clifford the Big Red Dog and Super Why ... «Philadelphia Public School Notebook, Jul 15»
6
Eisner Review: Lumberjanes | Dork Shelf
When you're younger, playing make believe is a treasured pastime, spent largely with other like-minded companions with creative inclinations. «DorkShelf.com, Jul 15»
7
Poehler: Emotions change as you age - TV3 Xposé
While Amy never had a make believe pal, she joked she does currently have an imaginary enemy, who hopes she doesn't do well in life. «TV3.ie, Jul 15»
8
UnREAL's Breeda Wool Talks Faith's Big Episode, Her "Funny …
And we were working with this director, Peter Warner, who is so spiritual and really reminded everybody that we play “make believe” for a living, ... «TVOvermind, Jul 15»
9
Armor For Sleep Hint At Return With Teaser Posts theMusic.com.au …
... angst-rock, storming onto the then-burgeoning third-wave emo scene with their acclaimed debut album, Dream To Make Believe, in 2003. «theMusic, Jul 15»
10
Children Who Play Make Believe are More Likely to Change …
Children Who Play Make Believe are More Likely to Change Religions When They Grow Up. date icon 19 Jul 2015 author icon Posted by Alison Lesley ... «World Religion News, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Make believe [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/make-believe>. Apr 2024 ».
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