Believe, v. t. [OE. bileven (with pref. be- for AS. ge-), fr. AS. gelfan, gelfan; akin to D. gelooven, OHG. gilouban, G. glauben, OS. gilbian, Goth. galaubjan, and Goth. liubs dear. See Lief, a., Leave, n.].

To exercise belief in; to credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of, upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by circumstances other than personal knowledge; to regard or accept as true; to place confidence in; to think; to consider; as, to believe a person, a statement, or a doctrine. [1913 Webster]

"Our conqueror (whom I now
Of force believe almighty)." [1913 Webster]

"King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ?" [1913 Webster]

"Often followed by a dependent clause.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- See Expect.

Believe, v. i.

To have a firm persuasion, esp. of the truths of religion; to have a persuasion approaching to certainty; to exercise belief or faith. [1913 Webster]
"Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." [1913 Webster]

"With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." [1913 Webster]
To think; to suppose. [1913 Webster]
"I will not believe so meanly of you." [1913 Webster]

To believe in. (a) To believe that the subject of the thought (if a person or thing) exists, or (if an event) that it has occurred, or will occur; -- as, to believe in the resurrection of the dead. “She does not believe in Jupiter.” J. H. Newman. (b) To believe that the character, abilities, and purposes of a person are worthy of entire confidence; -- especially that his promises are wholly trustworthy. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John xiv. 1. (c) To believe that the qualities or effects of an action or state are beneficial: as, to believe in sea bathing, or in abstinence from alcoholic beverages. -- To believe on, to accept implicitly as an object of religious trust or obedience; to have faith in.

top

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Believe, v.
1 tr. accept as true or as conveying the truth (I believe it; don't believe him; believes what he is told).
2 tr. think, suppose (I believe it's raining; Mr Smith, I believe?).
3 intr. (foll. by in) a have faith in the existence of (believes in God). b have confidence in (a remedy, a person, etc.) (believes in alternative medicine). c have trust in the advisability of (believes in telling the truth).
4 intr. have (esp. religious) faith.

Idiom

believe one's ears (or eyes) accept that what one apparently hears or sees etc. is true. believe it or not colloq. it is true though surprising. make believe (often foll. by that + clause, or to + infin.) pretend (let's make believe that we're young again). would you believe it? colloq. = believe it or not.

Derivative

believable adj. believability n.

Etymology

OE belyfan, belefan, with change of prefix f. gelefan f. Gmc: rel. to LIEF

top

THESAURUS

Believe

accept, accept for gospel, accept implicitly, accredit, admit, allow, assume, be afraid, be certain, be pious, be religious, believe in, believe without reservation, buy, conceive, conclude, confide in, conjecture, consider, credit, daresay, deduce, deem, divine, dream, expect, fancy, fear God, feel, gather, give faith to, grant, have confidence in, have faith, have faith in, hold, hope in, imagine, infer, keep the faith, let, let be, love God, maintain, make believe, opine, place confidence in, place reliance in, prefigure, presume, presuppose, presurmise, pretend, provisionally accept, put faith in, put trust in, receive, reckon, rely on, rely upon, repose confidence in, repose in, repute, rest in, say, sense, set store by, suppose, surmise, suspect, swallow, swear by, take, take for, take for granted, take it, take on faith, take on trust, take stock in, take to be, think, trust, trust in, trust in God, trust to, understand

top

ROGET THESAURUS

Believe

Piety

VB be pious, have faith, believe, receive Christ, revere, be converted, convert, edify, sanctify, keep holy, beatify, regenerate, inspire, consecrate, enshrine.

Belief

VB believe, credit, give faith to, give credit to, credence to, see, realize, assume, receive, set down for, take for, have it, take it, consider, esteem, presume, count upon, depend upon, calculate upon, pin one's faith upon, reckon upon, lean upon, build upon, rely upon, rest upon, lay one's account for, make sure of, make oneself easy about, on that score, take on trust, take on credit, take for granted, take for gospel, allow some weight to, attach some weight to, know, know for certain, have know, make no doubt, doubt not, be, rest assured, persuade oneself, assure oneself, satisfy oneself, make up one's mind, give one credit for, confide in, believe in, put one's trust in, place in, repose in, implicit confidence in, take one's word for, at one's word, place reliance on, rely upon, swear by, regard to, think, hold, take, take it, opine, be of opinion, conceive, trow, ween, fancy, apprehend, have it, hold a belief, possess, entertain a belief, adopt a belief, imbibe a belief, embrace a belief, get hold of a belief, hazard, foster, nurture a belief, cherish a belief, have an opinion, hold an opinion, possess, entertain an opinion, adopt an opinion, imbibe an opinion, embrace an opinion, get hold of an opinion, hazard an opinion, foster an opinion, nurture an opinion, cherish an opinion, view as, consider as, take as, hold as, conceive as, regard as, esteem as, deem as, look upon as, account as, set down as, surmise, get it into one's head, take it into one's head, come round to an opinion, swallow, cause to be believed, satisfy, persuade, have the ear of, gain the confidence of, assure, convince, convict, convert, wean, bring round, bring over, win over, indoctrinate, cram down the throat, produce conviction, carry conviction, bring home to, drive home to, go down, find credence, pass current, be received, be current, possess, take hold of, take possession of the mind.

Supposition

VB suppose, conjecture, surmise, suspect, guess, divine, theorize, presume, presurmise, presuppose, assume, fancy, wis, take it, give a guess, speculate, believe, dare say, take it into one's head, take for granted, imagine, put forth, propound, propose, start, put a case, submit, move, make a motion, hazard out, throw out a suggestion, put forward a suggestion, put forward conjecture, allude to, suggest, hint, put it into one's head, suggest itself, run in the head, marvel if, wonder if, wonder whether.

Also see definition of "Believe" in Bible Study Dictionaries

For further exploring for "Believe" in Webster Dictionary Online