[syn: believe, trust]
4. follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer;
- Example: "When you hear his sermons, you will be able to believe, too"
5. credit with veracity;
- Example: "You cannot believe this man"
- Example: "Should we believe a publication like the National Enquirer?"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Believe \Be*lieve"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Believed; p. pr. &
vb. n. Believing.] [OE. bileven (with pref. be- for AS.
ge-), fr. AS. gel?fan, gel?fan; akin to D. gelooven, OHG.
gilouban, G. glauben, OS. gil?bian, 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). --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? --Acts
xxvi. 27.
[1913 Webster]
Often followed by a dependent clause.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. --Acts
viii. 37.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: See Expect.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Believe \Be*lieve"\, v. i.
1. 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. --Mark ix.
24.
[1913 Webster]
With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
--Rom. x. 10.
[1913 Webster]
2. To think; to suppose.
[1913 Webster]
I will not believe so meanly of you. --Fielding.
[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.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
believe
v 1: accept as true; take to be true; "I believed his report";
"We didn't believe his stories from the War"; "She believes
in spirits" [ant: disbelieve, discredit]
2: 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" [syn: think, believe, consider, conceive]
3: be confident about something; "I believe that he will come
back from the war" [syn: believe, trust]
4: follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer; "When you hear
his sermons, you will be able to believe, too"
5: credit with veracity; "You cannot believe this man"; "Should
we believe a publication like the National Enquirer?"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
86 Moby Thesaurus words for "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