Antonyms for make believe

Grammar : Verb

Spell : meyk-bi-leev

Phonetic Transcription : ˈmeɪk bɪˌliv

live reality

Definition of make believe

Origin : Old English macian "to make, form, construct, do; prepare, arrange, cause; behave, fare, transform," from West Germanic *makon "to fashion, fit" (cf. Old Saxon makon, Old Frisian makia "to build, make," Middle Dutch and Dutch maken, Old High German mahhon "to construct, make," German machen "to make"), from PIE *mag- "to knead, mix; to fashion, fit" (see macerate). If so, sense evolution perhaps is via prehistoric houses built of mud. Gradually replaced the main Old English word, gewyrcan (see work (v.)).
Meaning "to arrive at" (a place), first attested 1620s, originally was nautical. Formerly used in many places where specific verbs now are used, e.g. to make Latin (c.1500) "to write Latin compositions." This broader usage survives in some phrases, e.g. to make water "to urinate," to make a book "arrange a series of bets" (1828), make hay "to turn over mown grass to expose it to sun." Make the grade is 1912, perhaps from the notion of railway engines going up an incline.
Read the valuable suggestions in Dr. C.V. Mosby's book -- be prepared to surmount obstacles before you encounter them -- equipped with the power to "make the grade" in life's climb. [advertisement for "Making the Grade," December 1916]
But the phrase also was in use in a schoolwork context at the time. Make do "manage with what is available" is attested from 1867. Make time "go fast" is 1849; make tracks in this sense is from 1834. To make a federal case out of (something) popularized in 1959 movie "Anatomy of a Murder;" to make an offer (one) can't refuse is from Mario Puzo's 1969 novel "The Godfather." To make (one's) day is from 1909; menacing make my day is from 1971, popularized by Clint Eastwood in film "Sudden Impact" (1983). Related: Made; making.

verb make a show of

Example sentences :

A hero does not try to make believe he is something which he is not.
Extract from : « Opera Stories from Wagner » by Florence Akin

That Elviry critter likes to make believe she's the Queen of Sheby.
Extract from : « Fair Harbor » by Joseph Crosby Lincoln

Well, then, I'd pick up that coal-hod and make believe play for a spell.
Extract from : « The Portygee » by Joseph Crosby Lincoln

I say it will pay us—you and Al and me—to make believe we're workin' even if we ain't.
Extract from : « The Portygee » by Joseph Crosby Lincoln

There was only one thing to do—to make believe I was 'with him.'
Extract from : « The Vagrant Duke » by George Gibbs

All children and young people like to play, to act, to make believe.
Extract from : « Rural Life and the Rural School » by Joseph Kennedy

If they want to dress up and make believe they are Egyptians, I give them clothes.
Extract from : « A Book of Burlesques » by H. L. Mencken

That is a make believe ruby, Berta, and Beth's is a sapphire.
Extract from : « Mary's Rainbow » by Mary Edward Feehan

Of course all this was "only make believe," as children say.
Extract from : « The Moving Picture Girls at Rocky Ranch » by Laura Lee Hope

Then what did the cunning little thing do but make believe he was dead!
Extract from : « The Nursery, June 1873, Vol. XIII. » by Various

Synonyms for make believe

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019