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to make for

to make for

119 3.7
Help to cause something to happen
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : hacer que
  • Consistent practice will make for significant improvements in your skills.
  • make for easier
  • make for more
  • make for depressing reading

And that process over and over will make for great writing.

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Examples

  • It made for a great picture in the papers the next day.

  • So we're all three fire signs, which makes for quite a household.

  • And that process over and over will make for great writing.

  • But we can all agree slow breath makes for a calm heart.

  • New and improved sources of energy have made for cleaner economic growth.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Bright lights will make for the maximum state of alertness.

  • It makes for a nice change.

  • It makes for a powerful, emotional connection.

  • Should New Delhi pursue this vision, it will make for greater tensions with Beijing.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Her writings, critics have said, make for urgent, exhilarating reading.

Synonyms

to make
vsto make for
1.0

To cause something to happen or be in a certain state

also covers both directly causing results and helping them to come about
to create
vsto make for
1.0

To make something new that does not exist yet

also applies to causing or helping results that are not necessarily new
to cause
vsto make for
1.0

To make something happen

can mean either acting as origin or merely helping outcomes occur
to produce
vsto make for
2.0

To make something, often in large amounts for sale

is broader, focusing on causing or helping outcomes beyond just creation
to generate
vsto make for
537 3.2

To make something that did not exist before

is broader, covering causing or helping results beyond process outcomes
to conduce
vsto make for
  • Formal
1 9.0

To help something happen

is about bringing about results either directly or by helping them happen

Antonyms

2.3

Stop something from happening or someone from doing it

75 3.6

To make it difficult for people or things to do something

How Much

to bring about
203 3.0
to make for
119 3.7

Surface Forms

make for infinitive
made for past
made for past participle
making for present participle
makes for third person singular

Morphology

make + for

The sense 'to move toward' is partially inferable because a learner could plausibly interpret 'make' as 'go/produce motion' and construe 'for' as indicating direction or target, yielding a directional reading. However, 'make' is not primarily a motion verb and 'for' more commonly marks purpose or beneficiary, so the specific directional phrasal meaning is not fully predictable without prior exposure, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

Make for gives the image of parts coming together toward one result, like ingredients that make a dish for a tastier meal, each one helping the final taste. So when we say something 'makes for' a good result, we mean it helps to create that result.