What is "to make believe"

make \make\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. made (m[=a]d); p. pr. & vb. n. making.] [OE. maken, makien, AS. macian; akin to OS. mak?n, OFries. makia, D. maken, G. machen, OHG. mahh?n to join, fit, prepare, make, Dan. mage. Cf. Match an equal.]

1. To cause to exist; to bring into being; to form; to produce; to frame; to fashion; to create. Hence, in various specific uses or applications:

   1. To form of materials; to cause to exist in a certain form; to construct; to fabricate.

      He . . . fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf.
      --Ex. xxxii. 4.

   2. To produce, as something artificial, unnatural, or false; -- often with up; as, to make up a story.

      And Art, with her contending, doth aspire To excel the natural with made delights.
      --Spenser.

   3. To bring about; to bring forward; to be the cause or agent of; to effect, do, perform, or execute; -- often used with a noun to form a phrase equivalent to the simple verb that corresponds to such noun; as, to make complaint, for to complain; to make record of, for to record; to make abode, for to abide, etc.

      Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.
      --Judg. xvi. 25.

      Wealth maketh many friends.
      --Prov. xix. 4.

      I will neither plead my age nor sickness in excuse of the faults which I have made.
      --Dryden.

   4. To execute with the requisite formalities; as, to make a bill, note, will, deed, etc.

   5. To gain, as the result of one's efforts; to get, as profit; to make acquisition of; to have accrue or happen to one; as, to make a large profit; to make an error; to make a loss; to make money.

      He accuseth Neptune unjustly who makes shipwreck a second time.
      --Bacon.

   6. To find, as the result of calculation or computation; to ascertain by enumeration; to find the number or amount of, by reckoning, weighing, measurement, and the like; as, he made the distance of; to travel over; as, the ship makes ten knots an hour; he made the distance in one day. (h) To put in a desired or desirable condition; to cause to thrive.

      Who makes or ruins with a smile or frown.
      --Dryden.

2. To cause to be or become; to put into a given state verb, or adjective; to constitute; as, to make known; to make public; to make fast.

   Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?
   --Ex. ii. 14.

   See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh.
   --Ex. vii. 1.

   Note: When used reflexively with an adjective, the reflexive pronoun is often omitted; as, to make merry; to make bold; to make free, etc.

3. To cause to appear to be; to constitute subjectively; to esteem, suppose, or represent.

   He is not that goose and ass that Valla would make him.
   --Baker.

4. To require; to constrain; to compel; to force; to cause; to occasion; -- followed by a noun or pronoun and infinitive.

   Note: In the active voice the to of the infinitive is usually omitted.

   I will make them hear my words.
   --Deut. iv. 10.

   They should be made to rise at their early hour.
   --Locke.

5. To become; to be, or to be capable of being, changed or fashioned into; to do the part or office of; to furnish the material for; as, he will make a good musician; sweet cider makes sour vinegar; wool makes warm clothing.

   And old cloak makes a new jerkin.
   --Shak.

6. To compose, as parts, ingredients, or materials; to constitute; to form; to amount to; as, a pound of ham makes a hearty meal.

   The heaven, the air, the earth, and boundless sea, Make but one temple for the Deity.
   --Waller.

7. To be engaged or concerned in. [Obs.]

   Gomez, what makest thou here, with a whole brotherhood of city bailiffs?
   --Dryden.

8. To reach; to attain; to arrive at or in sight of. ``And make the Libyan shores.'' --Dryden. They that sail in the middle can make no land of either side. --Sir T. Browne. To make a bed, to prepare a bed for being slept on, or to put it in order. To make a card (Card Playing), to take a trick with it. To make account. See under Account, n. To make account of, to esteem; to regard. To make away.

   1. To put out of the way; to kill; to destroy. [Obs.]

      If a child were crooked or deformed in body or mind, they made him away.
      --Burton.

   2. To alienate; to transfer; to make over. [Obs.] --Waller. To make believe, to pretend; to feign; to simulate. To make bold, to take the liberty; to venture. To make the cards (Card Playing), to shuffle the pack. To make choice of, to take by way of preference; to choose. To make danger, to make experiment. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl. To make default (Law), to fail to appear or answer. To make the doors, to shut the door. [Obs.] Make the doors upon a woman's wit, and it will out at the casement. --Shak. To make free with. See under Free, a. To make good. See under Good. To make head, to make headway. To make light of. See under Light, a. To make little of.

      1. To belittle.

      2. To accomplish easily. To make love to. See under Love, n. To make meat, to cure meat in the open air. [Colloq. Western U. S.] To make merry, to feast; to be joyful or jovial. To make much of, to treat with much consideration,, attention, or fondness; to value highly. To make no bones. See under Bone, n. To make no difference, to have no weight or influence; to be a matter of indifference. To make no doubt, to have no doubt. To make no matter, to have no weight or importance; to make no difference. To make oath (Law), to swear, as to the truth of something, in a prescribed form of law. To make of.

         1. To understand or think concerning; as, not to know what to make of the news.

         2. To pay attention to; to cherish; to esteem; to account. ``Makes she no more of me than of a slave.'' --Dryden. To make one's law (Old Law), to adduce proof to clear one's self of a charge. To make out.

            1. To find out; to discover; to decipher; as, to make out the meaning of a letter.

            2. to gain sight of; to recognize; to discern; to descry; as, as they approached the city, he could make out the tower of the Chrysler Building.

   3. To prove; to establish; as, the plaintiff was unable to make out his case.

   4. To make complete or exact; as, he was not able to make out the money. (d) to write out; to write down; -- used especially of a bank check or bill; as, he made out a check for the cost of the dinner; the workman made out a bill and handed it to him. To make over, to transfer the title of; to convey; to alienate; as, he made over his estate in trust or in fee. To make sail. (Naut.)

      1. To increase the quantity of sail already extended.

      2. To set sail. To make shift, to manage by expedients; as, they made shift to do without it. [Colloq.]. To make sternway, to move with the stern foremost; to go or drift backward. To make strange, to act in an unfriendly manner or as if surprised; to treat as strange; as, to make strange of a request or suggestion. To make suit to, to endeavor to gain the favor of; to court. To make sure. See under Sure. To make up.

         1. To collect into a sum or mass; as, to make up the amount of rent; to make up a bundle or package.

         2. To reconcile; to compose; as, to make up a difference or quarrel.

      3. To supply what is wanting in; to complete; as, a dollar is wanted to make up the stipulated sum.

      4. To compose, as from ingredients or parts; to shape, prepare, or fabricate; as, to make up a mass into pills; to make up a story.

         He was all made up of love and charms!
         --Addison.

   5. To compensate; to make good; as, to make up a loss.

   6. To adjust, or to arrange for settlement; as, to make up accounts.

   7. To dress and paint for a part, as an actor; as, he was well made up. To make up a face, to distort the face as an expression of pain or derision. To make up one's mind, to reach a mental determination; to resolve. To make way, or To make one's way.

      1. To make progress; to advance.

      2. To open a passage; to clear the way.

         To make words, to multiply words.