Definition of BELIEVE

believe

Verb

Verb Forms: believed, believing, believes

  • To accept that something is true, especially without proof.
  • accept as true; take to be true
    • "I believed his report"
    • "We didn't believe his stories from the War"
    • "She believes in spirits"
  • judge or regard; look upon; judge
    • "I believe her to be very smart"
  • be confident about something
    • "I believe that he will come back from the war"
  • follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer
    • "When you hear his sermons, you will be able to believe, too"
  • credit with veracity
    • "You cannot believe this man"
    • "Should we believe a publication like the National Enquirer?"
  • To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing).
  • To accept that someone is telling the truth.
  • To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.
  • To opine, think, reckon.
  • [with in]
  • To ascribe existence to.
  • [with in]
  • To believe that (something) is right or desirable.
  • [with in]
  • To have confidence in the ability or power of.

Examples

  • After that night in the church, I believed.
  • Do you believe in God / the Easter Bunny / ghosts?
  • Do you think this is good? —Hmm, I believe it's okay.
  • I believe in you, man! You can do it!
  • I believe there are faeries.
  • I can’t believe you found a spot for ’SYZYGY’.
  • I don't believe in making my bed.
  • I don't believe in sex before marriage.
  • If you believe the numbers, you'll agree we need change.
  • Since I don't believe in reincarnation, I believe that the only way to eliminate suffering is to die.
  • Why did I ever believe you?

Origin / Etymology

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”).
The prepositionally transitive senses with in are a semantic loan from Latin crēdō in aliquem / aliquid.

Synonyms

conceive, consider, think, trust, Adam and Eve, feel, hold, see, understand

Scrabble Score: 12

believe: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
believe: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
believe: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

believe: valid Words With Friends Word