English Dictionary
Definition of “believe”
believe (bɪˈliːv
)
Definitions
verb
- (tr; may take a clause as object) to accept (a statement, supposition, or opinion) as true ⇒
I believe God exists
- (tr) to accept the statement or opinion of (a person) as true
- (intr) foll by in to be convinced of the truth or existence (of) ⇒
to believe in fairies
- (intr) to have religious faith
- (when tr, takes a clause as object) to think, assume, or suppose ⇒
I believe that he has left already
- (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
=
think,
consider,
judge,
suppose,
maintain,
estimate,
imagine,
assume,
gather,
guess,
reckon,
conclude,
deem,
speculate,
presume,
conjecture,
postulate,
surmise,
=
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
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
v
- French:
croire
vt
- German:
glauben
vt
- Chinese: 相信 v
- Arabic: يُصَدِّقُ vt
- Portuguese: acreditar vt
- Russian: верить vt
- Croatian: vjerovati vt
- Czech: uvěřit vt věřit
- Danish: tro v
- Dutch: geloven vt
- Finnish: uskoa vt
- Greek: πιστεύω vt
- Italian: credere vt
- Japanese: 信じる vt
- Korean: ...을 믿다 vt
- Norwegian: tro vt
- Polish: uwierzyć vt wierzyć
- Brazilian Portuguese: acreditar vt
- European Spanish:
creer
v
- Swedish: tro vt
- Thai: เชื่อ vt
- Turkish: inanmak vt
- Vietnamese: tin vt
- British English:
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
v
- French:
croire
vi
- German:
glauben
vi
- Chinese: 笃信宗教 vi
- Arabic: يُؤْمِنُ
- Portuguese: crer vi
- Russian: верить vi
- Croatian: držati vi
- Czech: uvěřit vi věřit
- Danish: tro v
- Dutch: geloven vi
- Finnish: uskoa vi
- Greek: πιστεύω vi
- Italian: credere vi
- Japanese: 信仰する vi
- Korean: 믿다 vi
- Norwegian: tro vi
- Polish: uwierzyć vi wierzyć
- Brazilian Portuguese: crer vi
- European Spanish:
creer
v
- Swedish: tro vi
- Thai: เลื่อมใส ศรัทธา vi
- Turkish: inandırmak vi
- Vietnamese: 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)
