English word believe comes from Proto-Germanic *laubijaną, Proto-Indo-European *loyp-éye-, Proto-Germanic *lībaną (To remain, to be left.), Old English liefan, Proto-Germanic *bi- (By, at; a general locative prefix.)
Detailed word origin of believe
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| *laubijaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | |
| *loyp-éye- | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *lībaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | To remain, to be left. |
| liefan | Old English (ang) | (transitive) to believe; trust; confide in. (transitive) to give leave; grant; allow; consent. |
| *bi- | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | By, at; a general locative prefix. |
| *bilaubijaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | To believe. |
| beliefan | Old English (ang) | To believe. |
| *bilībaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | To stay, to remain in place. |
| belīefan | Old English (ang) | |
| *bilaibijaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | To cause to stay, to leave behind. |
| belǣfan | Old English (ang) | |
| belæfan | Old English (ang) | To be left; remain. |
| bileven | Middle English (enm) | |
| believe | English (eng) | (intransitive) To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.. (transitive) To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing). (transitive) To accept that someone is telling the truth. |
Words with the same origin as believe
What is the origin of the word believe?
Believe comes from old German words meaning to have trust. Belief doesn’t require proof, just acceptance. If you’re on a jury and the prosecution and defense present two different versions of what happened, you have to decide which side you believe. To believe can also mean having confidence.
Which word contains a word root that means believe credential dictionary dormant Genesis?
The correct answer is “credential”.
What word means essential?
Some common synonyms of essential are cardinal, fundamental, and vital. While all these words mean “so important as to be indispensable,” essential implies belonging to the very nature of a thing and therefore being incapable of removal without destroying the thing itself or its character.
What is the word the in English?
It is the definite article in English. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of either gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns and with a noun that starts with any letter.
What are prefix meanings?
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix un- is added to the word happy, it creates the word unhappy. In English, there are no inflectional prefixes; English uses suffixes instead for that purpose.
How do you choose a prefix?
Tips for Adding Prefixes
- Tip 1: The spelling of the base word never changes.
- Tip 2: Be aware that double letters can occur.
- Tip 3: Watch out for prefix look-alikes.
- Tip 4: Sometimes a hyphen is needed.
- Rule 1: Hyphenate the word when you add a prefix to a proper noun or a numeral.
Is Mr A prefix?
3. If no prefix is provided, the default is Mr or Ms. 4. In situations where both a prefix and a suffix could be used ie….PREFIX.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| MSgt | Major/Master Sergeant |
| Mr | Mister |
| Mrs | Married Woman |
| Ms | Single or Married Woman |
Is it correct to say Mr first name?
Technically, it’s not appropriate to use a person’s first name, without permission. The right thing to do is use an honorific (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr. …) until the person says, “Please call me (first name).”
What is Mr Mrs called?
History and etiquette tell us that Mister and Missus, known by the contractions Mr. and Mrs., are the proper ways to address men and women.
What is suffix in a name?
A suffix in a name is any part of the name that comes after the last name, such as Junior (Jr.), Senior (Sr.), I, II, III, IV, etc.
How do you write Jr in a name?
For the address, it is traditional to use the suffix “Jr.” for a child with the same name as a parent: John Adams, Jr. Not, John Adams, II….Subsequent generations use Roman Numerals to designate position:
- John Adams, III.
- John Adams, IV.
- Etc.
Where does the suffix go in a word?
A suffix goes at the end of a word. A prefix goes at the beginning.
Do all words have a prefix and suffix?
Words do not always have a prefix and a suffix. Others have a suffix but no prefix (reading/ing).
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- beleeve (obsolete)
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English beleven, bileven, from Old English belīefan (“to believe”), from Proto-West Germanic *bilaubijan (“to believe”), equivalent to be- + leave (“to give leave or permission to, permit, allow, grant”). Cognate with Scots beleve (“to believe”), Middle Low German belö̂ven (“to believe”), Middle High German belouben (“to believe”).
A related term in Old English was ġelīefan (“to be dear to; believe, trust”), from Proto-West Germanic *galaubijan (“to have faith, believe”), from Proto-Germanic *galaubijaną. Compare also Old English ġelēafa (“belief, faith, confidence, trust”), Old English lēof («dear, valued, beloved, pleasant, agreeable»; > English lief). Related also to North Frisian leauwjen (“to believe”), West Frisian leauwe (“to believe”), Dutch geloven (“to believe”), German glauben (“to believe”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galaubjan, “to hold dear, valuable, or satisfactory, approve of, believe”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /bɪˈliːv/
- (General American) IPA(key): /bɪˈliv/, /bi-/, /bə-/
- Rhymes: -iːv
- Homophone: beleave
- Hyphenation: be‧lieve
Verb[edit]
believe (third-person singular simple present believes, present participle believing, simple past and past participle believed)
- (transitive) To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing).
- Synonym: understand
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If you believe the numbers, you’ll agree we need change.
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I believe there are faeries.
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1898 September 1, Alexander E. Outerbridge Jr., “Curiosities of American Coinage”, in Popular Science Monthly[1], volume 53, D. Appleton & Company, page 601:
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Many persons believe that the so-called «dollar of the daddies,» weighing 412½ grains (nine tenths fine), having a ratio to gold of «16 to 1» in value when first coined, was the original dollar of the Constitution.
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2014 June 21, “Magician’s brain”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8892:
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[Isaac Newton] was obsessed with alchemy. He spent hours copying alchemical recipes and trying to replicate them in his laboratory. He believed that the Bible contained numerological codes.
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- (transitive) To accept that someone is telling the truth.
- Synonyms: trust, (Cockney rhyming slang) Adam and Eve
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Why did I ever believe you?
- (intransitive) To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.
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After that night in the church, I believed.
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1604, Jeremy Corderoy, A Short Dialogve, wherein is Proved, that No Man can be Saved without Good VVorkes, 2nd edition, Oxford: Printed by Ioseph Barnes, and are to be sold in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Crowne, by Simon Waterson, →OCLC, page 40:
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[N]ow ſuch a liue vngodly, vvithout a care of doing the wil of the Lord (though they profeſſe him in their mouths, yea though they beleeue and acknowledge all the Articles of the Creed, yea haue knowledge of the Scripturs) yet if they liue vngodly, they deny God, and therefore ſhal be denied, […]
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- (transitive) To opine, think, reckon.
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Do you think this is good? —Hmm, I believe it’s okay.
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2017 February 1, Stephen Buranyi, quoting Marcel van Assen, “The high-tech war on science fraud”, in The Guardian[2]:
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“Some people believe him charismatic,” Van Assen told me. “I am less sensitive to it.”
-
-
Usage notes[edit]
- The transitive verb believe and the phrasal verb believe in are similar but can have very different implications.
- To “believe” someone or something means to accept specific pieces of information as truth: believe the news, believe the lead witness. To “believe a complete stranger” means to accept a stranger’s story with little evidence.
- To “believe in” someone or something means to hold confidence and trust in that person or concept: believe in liberty, believe in God. To “believe in one’s fellow man” means to place trust and confidence in mankind.
- Meanings sometimes overlap. To believe in a religious text would also require affirming the truth of at least the major tenets. To believe a religious text might likewise imply placing one’s confidence and trust in it, in addition to accepting its statements as facts.
- This is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See Category:English stative verbs
Antonyms[edit]
- disbelieve
- (to accept as true without certainty): doubt
- (to accept someone’s telling as true): mistrust, distrust, suspect
Derived terms[edit]
- be unable to believe one’s eyes
- believability
- believable
- believe in
- believe it or not
- believe me
- believe one’s ears
- believe one’s eyes
- believe one’s own eyes
- believe you me
- believer
- disbelieve
- do you believe in God
- make believe
- make-believe
- seeing is believing
- unbelievable
- unbeliever
- would you believe
- would you believe it
- you better believe it
- you’d better believe it
[edit]
- belief
- disbelief
Translations[edit]
to accept that someone is telling the truth (object: person)
- Afrikaans: glo (af)
- Albanian: besoj (sq)
- Alemannic German: aanemme
- Amharic: አመነ (ʾämänä)
- Arabic: صَدَّقَ (ṣaddaqa)
- Moroccan Arabic: تاق (taq)
- Aragonese: creyer (an)
- Argobba: አመና (ämäna)
- Armenian: հավատալ (hy) (havatal)
- Aromanian: pistipsescu, cred
- Asturian: creyer, creer
- Azerbaijani: inanmaq (az)
- Bashkir: ышаныу (ışanıw)
- Belarusian: ве́рыць impf (vjérycʹ), паверыць pf (pavjerycʹ)
- Bulgarian: вя́рвам (bg) impf (vjárvam)
- Burmese: ယုံ (my) (yum)
- Catalan: creure (ca)
- Cebuano: tuo
- Chinese:
- Dungan: щин (xin)
- Mandarin: 相信 (zh) (xiāngxìn)
- Czech: věřit (cs) impf
- Dalmatian: credro
- Danish: tro (da)
- Dutch: geloven (nl)
- Esperanto: kredi je, kredi (eo)
- Estonian: uskuma (et)
- Faroese: trúgva
- Finnish: uskoa (fi)
- French: croire (fr)
- Friulian: crodi
- Galician: crer (gl)
- Ge’ez: አምነ (ʾämnä)
- Georgian: დაჯერება (daǯereba)
- German: glauben (de)
- Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galaubjan)
- Greek: πιστεύω (el) (pistévo)
- Ancient: πιστεύω (pisteúō)
- Haitian Creole: kwè
- Hebrew: הֶאֱמִין (he) (he’emín)
- Hiligaynon: tuo
- Hindi: मानना (hi) (mānnā)
- Hungarian: hisz (hu)
- Hunsrik: glaave
- Ido: kredar (io)
- Indonesian: percaya (id), memercayai (id)
- Irish: creid
- Old Irish: creitid
- Italian: credere (it)
- Japanese: 信じる (ja) (しんじる, shinjiru)
- Javanese: percaya (jv)
- Kabuverdianu: akridita
- Kazakh: сену (kk) (senu)
- Khmer: ជឿ (km) (cɨə)
- Korean: 믿다 (ko) (mitda)
- Kurdish:
- Northern Kurdish: bawer kirin (ku)
- Kyrgyz: ишенүү (ky) (işenüü)
- Lao: ເຊື່ອ (sư̄a)
- Latgalian: ticēt, īticēt
- Latin: crēdō (la)
- Latvian: ticēt (lv)
- Lithuanian: tikėti (lt)
- Lombard: cred (lmo)
- Luxembourgish: gleewen
- Lü: please add this translation if you can
- Macedonian: верува impf (veruva)
- Malay: percaya
- Malayalam: വിശ്വസിക്കുക (ml) (viśvasikkuka)
- Maltese: emmen
- Mirandese: acraditar
- Mongolian: итгэх (mn) (itgex)
- Norman: craithe (Jersey), creire (Guernsey, France)
- North Frisian: liiwe
- Norwegian: tro (no)
- Occitan: creire (oc), créder (oc), créser (oc)
- Old English: ġelīefan
- Old Javanese: pracaya
- Oromo: amanuu
- Ossetian: уыриын (wyriyn)
- Persian: باور کردن (fa) (bâvar kardan), باوریدن (fa)
- Piedmontese: chërde
- Polish: wierzyć (pl) impf
- Portuguese: acreditar (pt), crer (pt)
- Punjabi: please add this translation if you can
- Quechua: iñiy (qu)
- Romanian: crede (ro)
- Romansch: crair, crer, creir, crajer
- Russian: ве́рить (ru) impf (véritʹ), пове́рить (ru) pf (povéritʹ)
- Sanskrit: श्रद्दधाति (śraddadhāti)
- Sardinian: crèdere, crèere, crei, crèiri, crere
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: ве̏ровати impf, вје̏ровати impf
- Roman: vȅrovati (sh) impf, vjȅrovati (sh) impf
- Sicilian: crìdiri (scn), crìriri (scn)
- Slovak: veriť (sk) impf
- Slovene: verjeti (sl) impf
- Southern Ohlone: aaman
- Spanish: creer (es)
- Sundanese: percanten
- Swedish: tro (sv)
- Tagalog: maniwala
- Tajik: бовар кардан (bovar kardan)
- Tamil: please add this translation if you can
- Tatar: инанырга (inanırga)
- Telugu: నమ్ము (te) (nammu)
- Thai: เชื่อ (th) (chʉ̂ʉa)
- Turkish: inanmak (tr)
- Turkmen: ynanmak
- Udmurt: оскыны (oskyny)
- Ukrainian: ві́рити impf (víryty)
- Urdu: ماننا (mānnā)
- Uzbek: ishonmoq (uz)
- Venetian: crédar, créder
- Vietnamese: tin (vi), tin tưởng (vi)
- Walloon: croere (wa)
- Welsh: credu (cy)
- West Frisian: leauwe
- Yiddish: גלייבן (gleybn)
to accept as true
- Afrikaans: glo (af)
- Arabic: صَدَّقَ (ṣaddaqa)
- Moroccan Arabic: تاق (taq)
- Asturian: creyer, creer
- Bashkir: ышаныу (ışanıw)
- Bulgarian: вя́рвам (bg) (vjárvam), смятам (bg) (smjatam), мисля (bg) (mislja)
- Catalan: creure (ca)
- Cherokee: ᎪᎯᏳᎲᏍᎦ (gohiyuhvsga)
- Chinese:
- Dungan: щин (xin)
- Mandarin: 相信 (zh) (xiāngxìn)
- Czech: věřit (cs)
- Danish: tro (da)
- Dutch: geloven (nl)
- Esperanto: kredi (eo), fidi (eo)
- Estonian: uskuma (et)
- Finnish: uskoa (fi)
- French: croire (fr)
- Galician: crer (gl)
- Georgian: please add this translation if you can
- German: glauben (de)
- Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galaubjan)
- Greek: πιστεύω (el) (pistévo)
- Ancient: νομίζω (nomízō)
- Hebrew: הֶאֱמִין (he) (he’emín)
- Ido: kredar (io)
- Indonesian: percaya (id), memercayai (id)
- Irish: creid
- Old Irish: creitid
- Italian: credere (it)
- Japanese: 信じる (ja) (しんじる, shinjiru)
- Kabuverdianu: akridita
- Korean: 믿다 (ko) (mitda)
- Latin: crēdō (la)
- Latvian: ticēt (lv)
- Luxembourgish: gleewen
- Malayalam: വിശ്വസിക്കുക (ml) (viśvasikkuka)
- Maltese: emmen
- Mirandese: acraditar
- Norman: craithe (Jersey), creire (Guernsey, France)
- Old English: ġelīefan
- Old Occitan: creyre
- Persian: باوریدن (fa)
- Portuguese: acreditar (pt), crer (pt), confiar (pt)
- Quechua: iñiy (qu)
- Romanian: crede (ro)
- Russian: ве́рить (ru) impf (véritʹ), пове́рить (ru) pf (povéritʹ)
- Sanskrit: श्रद्दधाति (śraddadhāti)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: ве̏ровати, вје̏ровати
- Roman: ве̏ровати, vjȅrovati (sh)
- Slovene: verjeti (sl)
- Spanish: creer (es)
- Swedish: tro (sv)
- Tagalog: maniwala
- Telugu: ఒప్పుకో (oppukō)
- Turkish: inanmak (tr)
- Ukrainian: ві́рити (víryty)
- Walloon: croere (wa)
- Welsh: credu (cy)
- West Frisian: leauwe
to consider likely
- Afrikaans: glo (af), glo (af)
- Arabic: ظَنَّ (ẓanna)
- Moroccan Arabic: ضنّ (ḍenn)
- Belarusian: меркава́ць impf (mjerkavácʹ), ду́маць impf (dúmacʹ)
- Bulgarian: смятам (bg) (smjatam), мисля (bg) (mislja)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 覺得／觉得 (zh) (juéde)
- Czech: myslet (cs)
- Danish: tro (da), mene
- Dutch: geloven (nl), (to think) denken (nl)
- Esperanto: kredi (eo)
- Estonian: uskuma (et)
- Finnish: uskoa (fi)
- French: croire (fr), penser (fr)
- German: glauben (de), denken (de)
- Ido: kredar (io)
- Indonesian: yakin (id)
- Irish: creid
- Old Irish: creitid
- Italian: credere (it)
- Japanese: 思う (ja) (おもう, omou)
- Kabuverdianu: akridita
- Korean: 생각하다 (ko) (saenggakhada) (to think)
- Latin: crēdō (la)
- Mirandese: acraditar
- Norman: craithe (Jersey), creire (Guernsey, France)
- Old English: ġelīefan
- Polish: sądzić (pl), przypuszczać (pl), myśleć (pl) impf
- Portuguese: acreditar (pt), crer (pt), achar (pt)
- Russian: полага́ть (ru) impf (polagátʹ), счита́ть (ru) impf (sčitátʹ), ду́мать (ru) impf (dúmatʹ)
- Scottish Gaelic: smaoinich, saoil
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: ве̏ровати, вје̏ровати
- Roman: ве̏ровати, vjȅrovati (sh)
- Swedish: tro (sv), förmoda (sv), anta (sv)
- Telugu: అనుకో (anukō)
- Turkish: inanmak (tr)
- Ukrainian: вважа́ти (vvažáty), ду́мати (uk) impf (dúmaty)
- Walloon: croere (wa)
- Welsh: credu (cy)
- West Frisian: leauwe
to have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth
- Arabic: آمَنَ (ar) (ʔāmana) (present tense: يُؤْمِن (yuʔmin)), صَدَّقَ (ṣaddaqa)
- Moroccan Arabic: امن (amen) (present tense: كَيَامِن (kayamen))
- Bulgarian: вя́рвам (bg) (vjárvam)
- Czech: věřit (cs)
- Danish: tro (da)
- Dutch: geloven (nl) (in (nl))
- Esperanto: kredi (eo), fidi (eo)
- Estonian: uskuma (et)
- Finnish: uskoa (fi)
- French: croire (fr)
- Georgian: please add this translation if you can
- German: glauben (de)
- Greek: πιστεύω (el) (pistévo)
- Hebrew: הֶאֱמִין (he) (he’emín)
- Ido: kredar (io)
- Indonesian: beriman (id)
- Irish: creid
- Old Irish: creitid
- Italian: credere (it)
- Japanese: 信じる (ja) (しんじる, shinjiru)
- Kabuverdianu: akridita
- Malayalam: വിശ്വസിക്കുക (ml) (viśvasikkuka)
- Maltese: emmen
- Mirandese: acraditar
- Navajo: oodlą́
- Norman: craithe (Jersey), creire (Guernsey, France)
- Norwegian: tro (no)
- Old English: ġelīefan
- Persian: ایمان داشتن (imân dâštan)
- Polish: wierzyć (pl)
- Portuguese: acreditar (pt), crer (pt)
- Quechua: iñiy (qu)
- Russian: ве́рить (ru) impf (véritʹ), пове́рить (ru) pf (povéritʹ), ве́ровать (ru) impf (vérovatʹ)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: ве̏ровати, вје̏ровати
- Roman: ве̏ровати, vjȅrovati (sh)
- Slovene: verjeti (sl), verovati
- Spanish: creer (es), tener fe
- Swedish: tro (sv)
- Turkish: inanmak (tr)
- Ukrainian: ві́рувати (víruvaty), ві́рити (víryty)
- Walloon: croere (wa)
- Welsh: credu (cy)
- West Frisian: leauwe
Dutch[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
believe
- (archaic) singular present subjunctive of believen
Anagrams[edit]
- beviele
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This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
verb (used without object), be·lieved, be·liev·ing.
to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.
verb (used with object), be·lieved, be·liev·ing.
to have confidence or faith in the truth of (a positive assertion, story, etc.); give credence to.
to have confidence in the assertions of (a person).
to have a conviction that (a person or thing) is, has been, or will be engaged in a given action or involved in a given situation: The fugitive is believed to be headed for the Mexican border.
to suppose or assume; understand (usually followed by a noun clause): I believe that he has left town.
Verb Phrases
believe in,
- to be persuaded of the truth or existence of: to believe in Zoroastrianism; to believe in ghosts.
- to have faith in the reliability, honesty, benevolence, etc., of: I can help only if you believe in me.
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Idioms about believe
Origin of believe
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English bileven, equivalent to bi- be- + leven, Old English (Anglian) gelēfan (cognate with Dutch gelooven, German glauben, Gothic galaubjan )
OTHER WORDS FROM believe
be·liev·a·bil·i·ty [bih-leev-uh—bil-i-tee], /bɪˌliv əˈbɪl ɪ ti/, be·liev·a·ble·ness, nounbe·liev·a·ble, adjectivebe·liev·a·bly, adverbbe·liev·er, noun
be·liev·ing·ly, adverbhalf-be·lieved, adjectivehalf-be·liev·ing, adjectivepre·be·lieve, verb, pre·be·lieved, pre·be·liev·ing.su·per·be·liev·a·ble, adjectivesu·per·be·liev·a·ble·ness, nounsu·per·be·liev·a·bly, adverbwell-be·lieved, adjective
Words nearby believe
Belial, belie, belied, belief, belies, believe, believe it or not, believe one’s ears, believer, believing, belike
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Words related to believe
accept, admit, conclude, consider, have, hold, regard, suppose, think, trust, understand, expect, feel, maintain, presume, speculate, suspect, take, accredit, affirm
How to use believe in a sentence
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The thing that I believe I got the advantage is the teammates because he left the team, and all the teammates that helped me get prepared for him know him very well.
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We listened to people, and there are a lot of people who tried to stand up for what they believed in and weren’t really heard.
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Those who want to wrap themselves in the flag and believe the song conveys what it means to be an American — “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave” — can absolutely believe that.
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Those squads are often hailed as reason to believe there is another way, but you’re talking about four exceptional teams over three decades.
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To know that I would be waiting for 450 days or something like that, I wouldn’t believe it one bit, but here we are.
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People watch night soaps because the genre allows them to believe in a world where people just react off their baser instincts.
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The death toll, which experts believe has been significantly undercut by secret burials, stands at 7,905.
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Three quarters of those people believe the end of the world is nigh.
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I believe in the power of institutions—Congress, public policy, certain ideas about politics—that last for a long time.
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What they believe impacts economic policy, foreign policy, education policy, environmental policy, you name it.
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He did believe you, more or less, and what you said fell in with his own impressions—strange impressions that they were, poor man!
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I believe that these are ideal characters constructed from still more ancient legends and traditions.
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«I verily believe they’re gone to look at my button,» cried Davy, beginning to laugh, in spite of his fears.
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I cannot believe that God would think it necessary to come on earth as a man, and die on the Cross.
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I cannot believe that a good God would create or tolerate a Devil, nor that he would allow the Devil to tempt man.
British Dictionary definitions for believe
verb
(tr; may take a clause as object) to accept (a statement, supposition, or opinion) as trueI 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 supposeI 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
Derived forms of believe
believability, nounbelievable, adjectivebelievably, adverbbeliever, noun
believing, noun, adjective
Word Origin for believe
Old English beliefan
Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with believe
In addition to the idioms beginning with believe
- believe it or not
- believe one’s ears
also see:
- lead one to believe
- make believe
- you’d better believe it
Also seeseeing is believing.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
transitive verb
1
a
: to consider to be true or honest
you wouldn’t believe how long it took
b
: to accept the word or evidence of
2
: to hold as an opinion : suppose
I believe it will rain soon
intransitive verb
1
a
: to accept something as true, genuine, or real
b
: to have a firm or wholehearted religious conviction or persuasion : to regard the existence of God as a fact
—usually used with in
believe in the Scriptures
2
: to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something
3
: to hold an opinion : think
Phrases
not believe
: to be astounded at
I couldn’t believe my luck
Synonyms
Example Sentences
I have watched the many ways that teachers demonstrate pleasure in what students have said or done. I used to believe that teachers needed to present a stoic face for fear of losing control—as if smiling caused bad behavior.
—
Nancy Mack, English Journal, September 2008
Scientists kept a close eye on Mount Saint Helens. The volcano in Washington State spewed steam and ash throughout the month, leading experts to believe that it could erupt at any time.
—Time For Kids, 17 Dec. 2004
They parted as casually as any friends who believe they will meet in a few days. But each knew the other was in deadly peril of his life.
—Esther Forbes, Johnny Tremain, 1943
The scientists believed the reports.
Many people seem to believe that theory, but I find it hard to believe.
You shouldn’t believe everything you read.
He says he’ll help us, but I don’t believe what he says.
They were tricked into believing that he was a doctor.
He says he’ll help us, but I don’t believe him.
She went to church because her family expected it, but she didn’t really believe.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Outside experts don’t believe the DNA is preserved well enough for cloning.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 9 Apr. 2023
Officer Truman Fitzgerald said investigators believe an argument between the victim and the unknown suspect led to the deadly shooting.
—Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 8 Apr. 2023
The chair of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center think-tank in Kyiv doesn’t believe the leak will have an effect on Ukraine’s planned counter offensive.
—Susannah George, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2023
But JPMorgan and federal authorities now believe there was a big problem: Many of the millions of students said to be using Frank never existed.
—Quinn Owen, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2023
But even with the right-wing propensity to leap into obvious falsehoods, the Pew study found that over half of Republicans believed that Trump deserved at least some blame for the insurrection.
—Alex Thomas, The New Republic, 7 Apr. 2023
During the film’s release, quite a few critics believed that Chau portrayed a caricature who perpetuated Asian stereotypes at a time when the industry was finally starting to move away from such depictions onscreen.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Apr. 2023
Lead Crime Hypothesis For decades, some in the criminal justice, medical and economic communities have believed that lead exposure contributes to juvenile delinquency and crime.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023
Authorities, however, believe the suspects targeted the victims primarily for financial gain, though the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is assisting in the investigation.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 6 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘believe.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English beleven, from Old English belēfan, from be- + lȳfan, lēfan to allow, believe; akin to Old High German gilouben to believe, Old English lēof dear — more at love
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1b
Time Traveler
The first known use of believe was
before the 12th century
Dictionary Entries Near believe
Cite this Entry
“Believe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/believe. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on believe
Last Updated:
11 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
-
Defenition of the word believe
- To have as opinion, belief, or idea.
- To be confident about something.
- To give something for certain although unproven by science; to have faith.
- To consider what someone is telling as being the truth; to accept as or take to be true.
- accept as true; take to be true; «I believed his report»; «We didn’t believe his stories from the War»; «She believes in spirits»
- credit with veracity: «You cannot believe this man»; «Should we believe a publication like the «national Inquirer?»
- follow a credo; have a religious faith; be a believer; «When you hear his sermons, you will be able to believe, too»
- be confident about something; «I believe that he will come back from the war»
- judge or regard; look upon; judge; «I think he is very smart»; «I believe her to be very smart»; «I think that he is her boyfriend»; «The racist conceives such people to be inferior»
- accept as true; take to be true; «I believed his report»; «We didn»t believe his stories from the War»; «She believes in spirits»
- credit with veracity; «You cannot believe this man»; «Should we believe a publication like the National Inquirer?»
- follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer; «When you hear his sermons, you will be able to believe, too»
- accept as true; take to be true
- credit with veracity
- follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer
- judge or regard; look upon; judge
- be confident about something
Synonyms for the word believe
-
- accept as true
- conceive
- consider
- deem
- have faith in
- judge
- suppose
- think
- trust
Similar words in the believe
-
- believe
- believed
- believes
Hyponyms for the word believe
-
- bank
- believe
- believe in
- buy
- consider
- esteem
- feel
- hold
- infer
- look on
- look upon
- misbelieve
- reckon
- regard
- regard as
- rely
- repute
- rethink
- see
- swallow
- swear
- take to be
- think
- think of
- trust
- understand
- view
Hypernyms for the word believe
-
- accept
- anticipate
- believe
- credit
- evaluate
- expect
- judge
- pass judgment
Antonyms for the word believe
-
- disbelieve
- discredit
See other words
-
- What is odd
- The definition of smart
- The interpretation of the word een
- What is meant by de
- The lexical meaning het
- The dictionary meaning of the word fathomability
- The grammatical meaning of the word pitfall
- Meaning of the word toujours
- Literal and figurative meaning of the word voici
- The origin of the word preemptively
- Synonym for the word next
- Antonyms for the word way
- Homonyms for the word alone
- Hyponyms for the word kiss
- Holonyms for the word absolutely
- Hypernyms for the word troglodyte
- Proverbs and sayings for the word do
- Translation of the word in other languages decoy
Another word for “believe”!!! Synonyms are different words that express the same or similar meaning. This lesson will show a list of synonyms for the word “believe” with examples and ESL infographic.
Believe Synonym
List of Other Words for Believe
- Think
- Suppose
- Deem
- Gather
- Surmise
- Conclude
- Reckon
- Assume
- Trust
- Consider
- Credit
- Imagine
- Hold
- Accept
- Presume
- Rely
- Understand
- Regard
Examples of Synonyms for Believe
Think
- I don’t think you realize how important this is to her.
Suppose
- I suppose I’m lucky because my parents were behind me all the way.
Deem
- I deem it advisable to purchase the shares in the railway now.
Gather
- I gather his report is highly critical of the trial judge.
Surmise
- I could only surmise that she and Lila had met before.
Conclude
- We may conclude that he never had recourse to this simple experiment.
Reckon
- He says he’s going to complain to the manager, but I reckon he’s all mouth.
Assume
- It is reasonable to assume that he knew beforehand that this would happen.
Trust
- He doesn’t trust his partner. For that matter, I can’t blame him.
Consider
- There are some people who consider that their task in life is to push others about.
Credit
- I didn’t credit that absurd tale.
Imagine
- It’s difficult to imagine anything coming between them.
Hold
- I don’t hold with the way they do things nowadays.
Accept
- Please accept my hearty congratulations upon your marriage.
Presume
- I wouldn’t presume to tell you how to run your own business.
Rely
- I don’t know if I can rely on him, but I’m willing to take a gamble.
Understand
- I can never understand why Mary said nothing about her wrongs.
Regard
- She seems to regard any advice or help from me as interference.
Another Word for Believe | Infographic
Other Words for “Believe” in English
Last Updated on January 7, 2021