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I don't think I wrote stories down when I was young, but I certainly made them up, perhaps sometimes losing track of the border between reality and make-believe.
Jo Beverley

Meaning of "make-believe" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF MAKE-BELIEVE

make-believe  [ˈmeɪkbɪliːv] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF MAKE-BELIEVE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Make-Believe is 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.

WHAT DOES MAKE-BELIEVE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of make-believe in the English dictionary

The definition of make-believe in the dictionary is a fantasy, pretence, or unreality. Other definition of make-believe is a person who pretends.


WORDS THAT RHYME WITH MAKE-BELIEVE


believe
bɪˈliːv
cleave
kliːv
cleeve
kliːv
disbelieve
ˌdɪsbɪˈliːv
half-sleeve
ˈhɑːfˌsliːv
interleave
ˌɪntəˈliːv
leave
liːv
leve
liːv
oversleeve
ˈəʊvəˌsliːv
relieve
rɪˈliːv
shirtsleeve
ˈʃɜːtˌsliːv
sleave
sliːv
sleeve
sliːv
slieve
sliːv
unbelieve
ˌʌnbɪˈliːv
wayleave
ˈweɪˌliːv

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE MAKE-BELIEVE

make tracks for
make up one´s mind
make up to
make use of
make water
make waves
make whoopee
make with
make-or-break
make-ready
make-up
make-up artist
make-up bag
make-up base
make-up case
make-up class
make-up girl
make-up man
make-up men
make-up remover

WORDS THAT END LIKE MAKE-BELIEVE

aggrieve
engrieve
grieve
make believe
memory like a sieve
misbelieve
molecular sieve
nieve
out-thieve
outachieve
overachieve
reprieve
retrieve
rieve
scrieve
shrieve
sieve
thieve
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

虚构的
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

hacer creer
570 millions of speakers

English

make-believe
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

मेकअप पर विश्वास
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

جعل من التظاهر
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

понарошку
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

faz de conta
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

কৃত্রিম
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

imaginaire
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Membuat kepercayaan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Schein-
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ふり
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

메이크업 믿는다
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Nggawe pracaya
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

make- tin
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

மேக்-பிலீவ்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

विश्वास ठेवा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

inandırmak
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

finzione
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

udawanie
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

понарошку
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

face - cred
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

προσποιητός
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

make- glo
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

låtsaslek
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

make-tro
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 37.374 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
Candice Accola
My favorite thing about playing a vampire is the stunts. It's just a new, fun thing to do. Especially as a girl, being able to be all dolled up in heels and little outfits and be able to kick boys' butts, I think it's a really fun, make-believe world to play.
2
Nina Arianda
When I was a kid, my daily routine was playing make-believe, and I kind of created these stories throughout the day. And when it came time to go to preschool, my English wasn't really so great because my mother wanted me to learn Ukrainian, so she signed me up for these children's theater groups.
3
Eric Balfour
As you get older and you hopefully battle your own demons, you find other reasons why you want to be an actor. The people that I truly admire do this because they love telling stories and they love the make-believe of the moment and not so much the gratification afterwards.
4
Fred Barnes
Candidates don't have to deal with reality. They talk about the wonderful things they can accomplish as if advocating them is the same as achieving them. They live in a world of political make-believe in which everything from reconciling conflicting interests to paying for costly programs is easy.
5
James Van Der Beek
At a young age, acting was so inspiring and exciting, because to me it was play - make-believe, pretend.
6
Ruth Benedict
I have always used the world of make-believe with a certain desperation.
7
Jo Beverley
I don't think I wrote stories down when I was young, but I certainly made them up, perhaps sometimes losing track of the border between reality and make-believe.
8
Helena Bonham Carter
I love witches and magic and dress-up and make-believe.
9
Louis-Ferdinand Celine
To philosophize is only another way of being afraid and leads hardly anywhere but to cowardly make-believe.
10
Don Cheadle
The process changes slightly from role to role. Obviously, there are different things you're called on to do. You're not digging deep for Basher Tarr like I was for Paul Rusesabagina, but at the end of the day it's still all make-believe and you still are trying as realistically as you can to depict these characters.

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
Carana: A new African country? - Gauteng | IOL News
INDEPENDENT MEDIA The make-believe Carana has a slow-burn civil war, only two of four groups have signed a peace treaty, and the treaty ... «Independent Online, Jul 15»
2
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! star Tara Reid reveals hardest part of filming
It's hilarious — it's just all make-believe sharks. The director is screaming 'OK the sharks are coming' and we're like 'where are they, where are ... «NEWS.com.au, Jul 15»
3
Digital kidnapping trend threatens parents who post pictures of their …
Like in Paris' case, a vast majority of these digital kidnappers are teenage girls who use the photos for a creepy game of make-believe. «AOL News, Jul 15»
4
Kevin Millar 'made fun of others, but also himself' with Orioles …
In the clubhouse, within earshot of reporters, he held jaw-dropping phone conversations with make-believe bookies. "Give me $1,500 on the ... «Baltimore Sun, Jul 15»
5
A Trip Down LA's Fine Line Between Fantasy and Reality | WIRED
It further blurred the line between the real and the make-believe. To find real crime scenes, Martin tried listening to the police scanner but ... «Wired, Jul 15»
6
Three tips for writing successful commercial fiction in India - Scroll.in
The better the make-believe, the lesser the risk that the reader will be indifferent towards the protagonist. There is no good story or bad story. «Scroll.in, Jul 15»
7
The Iran Deal's Collapsing Rationale - WSJ
This is the make-believe mechanism whereby the slightest Iranian infraction will swiftly be detected and countered by a majority vote of a ... «Wall Street Journal, Jul 15»
8
4-year-old cancer patient 'marries' her favourite nurse - CityNews
Abby's mom asked Hickling to play along with a make-believe wedding and the video of the heartwarming ceremony has surpassed 24 million ... «CityNews, Jul 15»
9
TV: Watch the debut of 'Knock Knock Live' on Fox
The idea sounds slight - show-business people in a make-believe living room, playing parlor games. But it works because it has a sharp host ... «Reno Gazette Journal, Jul 15»
10
Jeb Bush: Federal Employees Are Paid Far Better Than Their …
It's not as fun as working with make-believe numbers, but it can keep you out of trouble. Real-world budgeting would mark a big step toward ... «FedSmith.com, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Make-Believe [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/make-believe-1>. May 2024 ».
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