Lets build a fort out of chairs and blankets and make believe we are pirates.''
1927, Oscar Hammerstein II, Show Boat
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.
The act of pretending that what is imaginary is real.
imaginary; conjured in someone's imagination, especially when imagined by a child