English Dictionary

Definition of “believe

believe (bɪˈliːvPronunciation for believe

Definitions

verb

  1. (tr; may take a clause as object) to accept (a statement, supposition, or opinion) as true  ⇒ I believe God exists 
  2. (tr) to accept the statement or opinion of (a person) as true
  3. (intr)  foll by in to be convinced of the truth or existence (of)  ⇒ to believe in fairies 
  4. (intr) to have religious faith
  5. (when tr, takes a clause as object) to think, assume, or suppose  ⇒ I believe that he has left already 
  6. (tr; foll by of; used with can, could, would, etc) to think that someone is able to do (a particular action)  ⇒ I wouldn't have believed it of him 

Alternative Forms

beˈlievaˌbility noun beˈlievable adjective beˈlievably adverb beˈliever noun beˈlieving noun adjective

Word Origin

Old English beliefan

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= accept, hold, buy, trust, credit, depend on rely on swallow, count on, buy into, have faith in swear by, be certain of be convinced of place confidence in presume true take as gospel take on,

Quotations

  • "To believe with certainty we must begin with doubting" Stanislaus I of Poland
  • "Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable" Oscar Wilde
  • "We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe" Cardinal Newman
  • "It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving, it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe" Thomas Paine
  • "I can believe anything, provided that it is incredible" Oscar Wilde
  • "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" Bible: St. Mark
  • "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe" Bible: St. John
  • "Though ye believe not me, believe the works" Bible: St. John

Translations

  • British English: believe Pronunciation for believe If you believe that something is true, you think that it is true.Experts believe that the drought will be extensive.bɪˈliːv VERB Experts believe that the drought will be extensive.
  • Spanish: creer Pronunciation for creer v
  • French: croire Pronunciation for croire vt
  • German: glauben Pronunciation for glauben vt
  • Chinese: 相信Pronunciation for 相信 v
  • Arabic: يُصَدِّقُPronunciation for يُصَدِّقُ vt
  • Portuguese: acreditarPronunciation for acreditar vt
  • Russian: веритьPronunciation for верить vt
  • Croatian: vjerovatiPronunciation for vjerovati vt
  • Czech: uvěřitPronunciation for uvěřit vt věřit
  • Danish: troPronunciation for tro v
  • Dutch: gelovenPronunciation for geloven vt
  • Finnish: uskoaPronunciation for uskoa vt
  • Greek: πιστεύωPronunciation for πιστεύω vt
  • Italian: crederePronunciation for credere vt
  • Japanese: 信じるPronunciation for 信じる vt
  • Korean: ...을 믿다Pronunciation for ...을 믿다 vt
  • Norwegian: troPronunciation for tro vt
  • Polish: uwierzyćPronunciation for uwierzyć vt wierzyć
  • Brazilian Portuguese: acreditarPronunciation for acreditar vt
  • European Spanish: creer Pronunciation for creer v
  • Swedish: troPronunciation for tro vt
  • Thai: เชื่อPronunciation for เชื่อ vt
  • Turkish: inanmakPronunciation for inanmak vt
  • Vietnamese: tinPronunciation for tin vt

  • British English: believe Pronunciation for believe If you believe in things such as God, fairies, or miracles, you are sure that they exist or happen.I don't believe in ghosts.bɪˈliːv VERB I don't believe in ghosts.
  • Spanish: creer Pronunciation for creer v
  • French: croire Pronunciation for croire vi
  • German: glauben Pronunciation for glauben vi
  • Chinese: 笃信宗教Pronunciation for 笃信宗教 vi
  • Arabic: يُؤْمِنُPronunciation for يُؤْمِنُ
  • Portuguese: crerPronunciation for crer vi
  • Russian: веритьPronunciation for верить vi
  • Croatian: držatiPronunciation for držati vi
  • Czech: uvěřitPronunciation for uvěřit vi věřit
  • Danish: troPronunciation for tro v
  • Dutch: gelovenPronunciation for geloven vi
  • Finnish: uskoaPronunciation for uskoa vi
  • Greek: πιστεύωPronunciation for πιστεύω vi
  • Italian: crederePronunciation for credere vi
  • Japanese: 信仰するPronunciation for 信仰する vi
  • Korean: 믿다Pronunciation for 믿다 vi
  • Norwegian: troPronunciation for tro vi
  • Polish: uwierzyćPronunciation for uwierzyć vi wierzyć
  • Brazilian Portuguese: crerPronunciation for crer vi
  • European Spanish: creer Pronunciation for creer v
  • Swedish: troPronunciation for tro vi
  • Thai: เลื่อมใส ศรัทธาPronunciation for เลื่อมใส ศรัทธา vi
  • Turkish: inandırmakPronunciation for inandırmak vi
  • Vietnamese: tin tưởngPronunciation for tin tưởng vi

Usage examples

  • I believe there are some very serious doubts regarding some of Jarawa's political activities.
    Hugo Wilcken, THE EXECUTION (2002)
  • Many surfers believe that offshore wind farms will distort the incline of the seabed, ruining the shape of the waves.
    Country Life (2004)
  • Calling for additional investigative work, he added: "I don't believe that those additional efforts will change the story fundamentally.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • Everyone seemed to genuinely believe in whatever way they went about it.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • Psychiatrists who believe this refer to family trees in which people in successive generations are assumed to have had manic-depression.
    Dorothy Rowe, BEYOND FEAR (2002)

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