Make, like take, often invades writing, unnoticed until a writer reads a WIP out loud. A Google search for “idioms” “make” (including quotation marks) produces almost 37,000,000 results. Yes, you read that right: thirty-seven million. No wonder make is a nemesis for so many writers.

It Appears in Quotes by Famous People

Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Abraham Lincoln: “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

Albert Einstein: “Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.”

Aristotle: “We make war that we may live in peace.”

Theodore Roosevelt: “Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.”

And I could continue almost ad infinitum.

To Replace Make, Start With the Easiest Fixes

Many of the foregoing quotes contain a combination of make plus a noun. Such phrases are simple to fix. Most nouns can be replaced by a verb, and the words preceding the nouns can be deleted.

make an announcement: announce, broadcast, proclaim, publicize

make a backup: back up, copy, duplicate, replicate

make a believer: convert, convince, induce, persuade, sway

make a blunder or mistake: blunder, botch, bungle, err, fail

make a booking: book, engage, order, reserve

make a call: call (up), buzz, phone, ring, telephone

make a change: change, adjust, alter, amend, modify, transform

make a comeback: bounce back, rally, rebound, recover

make a complaint: complain, gripe, object, protest

make the cut; make the grade: qualify, certify, pass, succeed

make a date: arrange, book, plan, schedule

make a deal: agree, bargain, collaborate, dicker, negotiate

make a decision: decide, choose, elect, opt, resolve

make a declaration: declare, announce, broadcast, proclaim

make a dent in: decrease, lessen, lower, minimize, reduce

make a deposit: deposit, bank, pay in, put in

make a difference: affect, influence, inspire, matter, shape

make a dive: dive, decrease, free-fall, plummet, plunge

make a donation: donate, contribute, gift, give, pledge, present

make an effort: attempt, endeavor, struggle, try

make an experiment: experiment, pilot, test, trial, try

make a face: grimace, glower, moue, pout, scowl, smirk, wince

make a false step: blunder, err, goof, misjudge, slip, stumble

make a federal case: exaggerate, overstate, overstress

make a hole: bore, drill, penetrate, pierce, puncture

make an impression: impress, affect, awe, influence, inspire, move

make a killing: gain, flourish, prosper, succeed, thrive

make a landing: land, alight, arrive, touch down

make a mock of: mock, deride, lampoon, ridicule, taunt, tease

make money: earn, bring in, do well, profit, prosper, thrive

make one’s day: cheer, delight, hearten, inspire, reassure

make a payment: pay, disburse, give, remit, send, settle, submit

make a plan: plan, arrange, conceive, devise, formulate, organize

make a promise: promise, assure, guarantee, pledge, swear, vow

make recompense: recompense, compensate, reimburse

make a reservation: reserve, book, charter, contract, prearrange

make a sale: sell, close, dump, peddle, unload

make a splash: astonish, astound, impress, influence

make a stink: complain, oppose, protest, rant, rave, remonstrate

make a success (of): succeed, accomplish, achieve, triumph

make war: war, battle, clash, combat, engage, feud, fight

make waves: affect, excite, impress, inspire, stimulate, stir

make a wish: wish, desire, request, want

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs: The Next Step

Make, as a standalone verb or as part of a phrasal verb, embraces a plethora of meanings. Here are a few.

make (1): assemble, build, cobble, construct, contrive, create, devise, dream up, engineer, erect, fabricate, fashion, invent, manufacture, originate, produce, put together, set up, think up

make (2): bake, brew, concoct, cook (up), produce, slap together, throw together

make (3): cause, engender, evoke, generate, hatch, incite, kindle, lead to, precipitate, provoke

make (4): coerce, compel, force, impel, necessitate, oblige, pressure, require, urge

make (5): become, change into, convert, develop into, emerge as, grow into, ripen into, turn into

make (6): achieve, accomplish, attain, complete, consummate, finish, fulfill, gain, get to, manage, meet, reach, see through, solve, succeed, win

make (7): bring home, bring in, clear, collect, draw, earn, gather, get paid, gross, net, procure, profit, receive, score, snag, sock, wrangle

make (8): appoint, assign, choose, commission, decree, delegate, designate, determine, elect, establish, install, name, nominate, promote, select, set

make for (1): approach, aim for, go toward, head to, travel toward

make for (2): bring about, cause, create, produce

make of (1): construe, decipher, interpret, think, understand

make of (2): benefit, capitalize on, exploit, gain

make off: depart, disappear, leave, vamoose

make out (1): distinguish, identify, notice, perceive, see

make out (2): canoodle, make love, neck, pet, smooch, snog

make up (1): apologize, atone, compensate, conciliate, recompense, reconcile, redress, reunite, resolve

make up (2): add to, augment, boost, complete, expand, extend, subsidize, supplement

make up (3): concoct, deceive, fabricate, feign, fib, lie, mislead, misspeak, perjure, prevaricate

make up (4): compose, comprise, consist of, constitute, embody, encompass, form, hold, include, incorporate, subsume

make up for: balance, compensate, counteract, counterbalance, offset

Clichés and Idioms

The make phrases near the beginning of this post represent a miniscule percentage of the clichés and idioms we use in everyday writing and speech. Here are a few more.

enough to make the angels weep: distressing, heartbreaking, heartrending

enough to make a cat laugh: hilarious, sidesplitting, uproarious

make a clean breast of: admit, confess, disclose, divulge, reveal

make a fool out of: demean, deride, humiliate, ridicule

make a fresh start: begin anew, recommence, start afresh, start over

make do: cope, eke, endure, fare, manage, subsist, survive

make eyes at; make a pass at: come on to, coquet, flirt, ogle, proposition

make heads or tails of something: comprehend, figure out, solve

make light of: de-emphasize, downplay, pooh-pooh, trivialize

make a mountain out of a molehill: exaggerate, overstate, overstress

make a sailor blush: curse, cuss, blaspheme, execrate, imprecate, swear

make one’s acquaintance: acknowledge, greet, meet, nod, receive

make one’s blood boil: anger, enrage, incense, infuriate, provoke, rile

make one’s blood run cold: appall, dismay, horrify, revolt, shock

make oneself clear: clarify, elucidate, explain, illuminate

make one’s ears burn: embarrass, discomfit, humiliate, mortify

make one eat crow: embarrass, demean, demoralize, humiliate

make one’s flesh crawl: disgust, nauseate, repulse, revolt, sicken

make one’s fortune: flourish, prosper, score, succeed, thrive

make one’s hackles rise: enrage, infuriate, incense, irritate, rile

make one’s hair curl: horrify, outrage, scandalize, shock, stun

make one’s head spin: befuddle, bewilder, confuse, daze, overwhelm

make oneself at home: loll, lounge, recline, relax, sprawl, unwind

make one hot under the collar: anger, exasperate, incense, rile

make one’s jaw drop: amaze, astonish, astound, flabbergast, stun

make one laugh: amuse, delight, entertain, gladden, regale

make one’s money stretch: budget, conserve, economize, scrimp

make one pay through the nose: fleece, overcharge, overprice

make one’s point: articulate, communicate, convey, defend, relate

make right: right, ameliorate, correct, rectify, remedy

make someone a scapegoat: blame, censure, condemn, denounce

make oneself scarce: depart, disappear, leave, scarper, scram

make someone see reason: convince, induce, persuade, prevail, sway

make someone sick: sicken, appall, disgust, nauseate, repel, repulse

make something happen: activate, cause, inaugurate, initiate, trigger

make to measure: adapt, customize, modify, personalize, tailor

make up as one goes along: ad lib, brainstorm, extemporize, improvise

make up one’s mind: choose, conclude, decide, determine, resolve

unable to make heads or tails of: baffled, flummoxed, perplexed, puzzled

How Many Instances of Make Can You Find in your WIP?

Too many? Analyze the meaning behind each occurrence, and replace it with a more concise word or words.

May your muse be with you!