"make believe" meaning in English

See make believe in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Audio: En-au-make believe.ogg [Australia] Forms: more make believe [comparative], most make believe [superlative]
Head templates: {{en-adj}} make believe (comparative more make believe, superlative most make believe)
  1. imaginary; conjured in someone's imagination, especially when imagined by a child
    Sense id: en-make_believe-en-adj-SlVTJtyy Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English light verb constructions, English predicates, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 64 13 23 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 68 10 23 Disambiguation of English light verb constructions: 65 22 14 Disambiguation of English predicates: 43 28 29 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 73 11 16

Noun

Audio: En-au-make believe.ogg [Australia] Forms: make believes [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} make believe (countable and uncountable, plural make believes)
  1. Alternative form of make-believe Tags: alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable Alternative form of: make-believe
    Sense id: en-make_believe-en-noun-dSTRpxQE

Verb

Audio: En-au-make believe.ogg [Australia] Forms: makes believe [present, singular, third-person], making believe [participle, present], made believe [participle, past], made believe [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|make<,,made> believe}} make believe (third-person singular simple present makes believe, present participle making believe, simple past and past participle made believe)
  1. (idiomatic, childish) To pretend or imagine. Tags: childish, idiomatic Translations (to pretend): преструвам се (prestruvam se) (Bulgarian), fer veure (Catalan), so tun, als ob (German), finji (Kabuverdianu), whakangaio (Maori), whakatakune (Maori), late som (Norwegian Bokmål), late som om (Norwegian Bokmål), fazer de conta (Portuguese), hacer de cuenta (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-make_believe-en-verb-JuLOb-4F

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for make believe meaning in English (5.0kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "makes believe",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "making believe",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "made believe",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "made believe",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "make<,,made> believe"
      },
      "expansion": "make believe (third-person singular simple present makes believe, present participle making believe, simple past and past participle made believe)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Let's build a fort out of chairs and blankets and make believe we are pirates."
        },
        {
          "ref": "1927, Oscar Hammerstein II, Show Boat",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pretend or imagine."
      ],
      "id": "en-make_believe-en-verb-JuLOb-4F",
      "links": [
        [
          "childish",
          "childish"
        ],
        [
          "pretend",
          "pretend"
        ],
        [
          "imagine",
          "imagine"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, childish) To pretend or imagine."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "childish",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "prestruvam se",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "преструвам се"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "fer veure"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "so tun, als ob"
        },
        {
          "code": "kea",
          "lang": "Kabuverdianu",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "finji"
        },
        {
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "whakangaio"
        },
        {
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "whakatakune"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "late som"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "late som om"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "fazer de conta"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to pretend",
          "word": "hacer de cuenta"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-make believe.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg/En-au-make_believe.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "make believe"
}

{
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      "form": "make believes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "make believe (countable and uncountable, plural make believes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "make-believe"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of make-believe"
      ],
      "id": "en-make_believe-en-noun-dSTRpxQE",
      "links": [
        [
          "make-believe",
          "make-believe#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
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        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-make believe.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg/En-au-make_believe.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
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      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "make believe"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more make believe",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most make believe",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "make believe (comparative more make believe, superlative most make believe)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "64 13 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "imaginary; conjured in someone's imagination, especially when imagined by a child"
      ],
      "id": "en-make_believe-en-adj-SlVTJtyy",
      "links": [
        [
          "imaginary",
          "imaginary"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-make believe.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg/En-au-make_believe.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg",
      "tags": [
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    }
  ],
  "word": "make believe"
}
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    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English light verb constructions",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English predicates",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "makes believe",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "making believe",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "made believe",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "made believe",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "make<,,made> believe"
      },
      "expansion": "make believe (third-person singular simple present makes believe, present participle making believe, simple past and past participle made believe)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English childish terms",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Let's build a fort out of chairs and blankets and make believe we are pirates."
        },
        {
          "ref": "1927, Oscar Hammerstein II, Show Boat",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pretend or imagine."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "childish",
          "childish"
        ],
        [
          "pretend",
          "pretend"
        ],
        [
          "imagine",
          "imagine"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, childish) To pretend or imagine."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "childish",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-make believe.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg/En-au-make_believe.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "prestruvam se",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "преструвам се"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "fer veure"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "so tun, als ob"
    },
    {
      "code": "kea",
      "lang": "Kabuverdianu",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "finji"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "whakangaio"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "whakatakune"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "late som"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "late som om"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "fazer de conta"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to pretend",
      "word": "hacer de cuenta"
    }
  ],
  "word": "make believe"
}

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    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English light verb constructions",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English predicates",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "make believes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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  ],
  "head_templates": [
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        "1": "~"
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  ],
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "make-believe"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of make-believe"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "make-believe",
          "make-believe#English"
        ]
      ],
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        "alt-of",
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg",
      "tags": [
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      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "make believe"
}

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    "English entries with incorrect language header",
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    "English predicates",
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    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
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      "form": "more make believe",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
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    },
    {
      "form": "most make believe",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "expansion": "make believe (comparative more make believe, superlative most make believe)",
      "name": "en-adj"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "imaginary; conjured in someone's imagination, especially when imagined by a child"
      ],
      "links": [
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          "imaginary",
          "imaginary"
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/En-au-make_believe.ogg",
      "tags": [
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      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "make believe"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.