Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

make believe

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.41 in modern English

Syllables: make -be-lieve
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To pretend or imagine.

noun

Alternative form of make-believe.

Countable; Uncountable

adj

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

Example Sentences

"Let's make believe that we are explorers."
"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."

Usage

Inflected Forms

makes believe (present, singular) making believe (participle, present) made believe (participle, past) made believe (past) make believes (plural) more make believe (comparative) most make believe (superlative)

Synonyms

make pretend make pretend

Questions

What does make believe mean?: To pretend or imagine.

How to pronounce make believe

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “make believe”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “make believe”.
Repeat and practice — Say “make believe” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.