suspend disbelief

suspend (one's) disbelief

To ignore or look past one's incredulity at the improbability of something that occurs within a piece of fiction in order to better enjoy the experience of the work. I'm more than willing to suspend my disbelief a little for a cheesy action film. I find that I can never really suspend my disbelief when I watch a movie that's crammed full of CGI.

See also: disbelief, suspend

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

suspend disbelief

To accept as plausible something one knows to be untrue, especially the setting and plot of a drama or fiction so as to allow the appreciation of art.

See also: disbelief, suspend

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.