Lexic.us

Definition of Make believe

1. Verb. Represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like. "She makes like an actress"

Definition of Make believe

1. Verb. (idiomatic) To pretend or imagine. ¹

2. Noun. The act of pretending that what is imaginary is real. ¹

3. Adjective. imaginary; conjured in someone's imagination, especially when imagined by a child ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Make Believe

Literary usage of Make believe

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. St. Nicholas by Mary Mapes Dodge (1889)
"But for this very reason no one can put all our plays into a book and teach us how to make-believe; we must teach ourselves. As a rule, too, the children ..."

2. Publishers Weekly by Publishers' Board of Trade (U.S.), Book Trade Association of Philadelphia, American Book Trade Union, Am. Book Trade Association, R.R. Bowker Company (1912)
"Molly Make-Believe 165 i. The Rosary 298 3. Max loS 4. The Rules of the Game 94 5. ... Molly Make-Believe 109 6. Marie Claire 85 JULY. j. ..."

3. Thought and Things: A Study of the Development and Meaning of Thought, Or by James Mark Baldwin (1906)
"Readers of Professor Groos' books on play will remember the distinction between the " make-believe " of a strictly biological sort— appearing as ..."

4. Punch by Mark Lemon, Henry Mayhew, Tom Taylor, Shirley Brooks, Francis Cowley Burnand, Owen Seaman (1879)
"There 's lots of make-believe about. Bless ycr, 1 've heard remarks From purty lips, on pictures, as you 'd think was meant for larks ; And I've seen your ..."

5. Elementary Education: Its Problems and Processes by John Alexander Hull Keith (1905)
"B. Make-believe and fancy. Through the process just mentioned, ... The make- believe of the fairy story is worth while because it is essentially moral (in ..."

6. Play in Education by Joseph Lee (1915)
"In the first place the games of the Big Injun age, especially of the earlier part of it, include an element of make-believe. Puss in the corner, ..."

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