Believe

Definition: Believe

Believe

Verb

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".

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".

3. Be confident about something; "I believe that he will come back from the war".

4. Follow a credo; have a religious 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 Inquirer?".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "believe" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Synonyms: Believe

Belief

Verb: 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.

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.

Falsehood

Dissemble, dissimulate; feign, assume, put on, pretend, make believe; play possum; play false, play a double game; coquet; act a part, play a part; affect; simulate, pass off for; counterfeit, sham, make a show of; malinger; say the grapes are sour.

Incredulity

Verb: be incredulous; Adjective: distrust; (disbelieve); refuse to believe; shut one's eyes to, shut one's ears to; turn a deaf ear to; hold aloof, ignore, nullis jurare in verba magistri.

Adjective: incredulous, skeptical, unbelieving, inconvincible; hard of belief, shy of belief, disposed to doubt, indisposed to believe; suspicious, scrupulous, distrustful, cynical;

Piety

Verb: be pious; Adjective: have faith; Noun: believe, receive Christ; revere; be converted;

Probability

Phrase: the chances, the odds are; appearances are in favor of, chances are in favor of; there is reason to believe, there is reason to think, there is reason to expect; I dare say; all Lombard Street to a China orange.

Supposition

Verb: 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.

Unbelief Doubt

Verb: disbelieve, discredit; not believe; misbelieve; refuse to admit; (dissent); refuse to believe; (incredulity).

Phrase: fronti nulla fides; nimium ne crede colori; "timeo Danaos et dona ferentes", beware of Greeks bearing gifts; credat Judaeus Apella; let those believe who may; ad tristem partem stenua est suspicio.

Doubtful; (uncertain); disputable; unworthy of, undeserving of belief; questionable; suspect, suspicious; open to suspicion, open to doubt; staggering, hard to believe, incredible, unbelievable, not to be believed, inconceivable; impossible.

Unconformity

I could hardly believe it; I saw it, but I didn't believe it.

Wonder

Verb: wonder, marvel, admire; be surprised; Adjective: start; stare; open one's eyes, rub one's eyes, turn up one's eyes; gloar; gape, open one's mouth, hold one's breath; look aghast, stand aghast, stand agog; look blank; (disappointment); tombe des nues; not believe one's eyes, not believe one's ears, not believe one's senses.

Adjective: surprised; Verb: aghast, all agog, breathless, agape; open-mouthed; awestruck, thunderstruck, moonstruck, planet-struck; spellbound; lost in amazement, lost in wonder, lost in astonishment; struck all of a heap, unable to believe one's senses, like a duck ion thunder.

Crosswords: Believe

I need to believe, that something extraordinary is possible (A Beautiful Mind; writing credit: Akiva Goldsman)

You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe (The Matrix; writing credit: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski)

You really believe this, don't you, that you're a vampire (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles; writing credit: Anne Rice)

You expect me to believe that scantily clad, in the arms of another man, in the middle of the night, inside an elephant you were rehearsing for a play (Moulin Rouge!; writing credit: Baz Luhrmann; Craig Pearce)

Believe me, Mr. Bond, I could shoot you from Stuttgart und still create ze proper effect (Tomorrow Never Dies; writing credit: Bruce Feirstein)

But love, I believe in love (Believe; performing artist: Elton John)

'Cause I believe that love is the answer (I Believe; performing artist: Blessid Union Of Souls)

You gave me reasons to believe that we were always meant to be but now I see (Can't Believe; performing artist: Faith Evans)

And I believe in love, love, love (I BELIEVE IN LOVE; performing artist: Paula Cole)

He tells me to believe in Jesus (Something To Believe In; performing artist: Poison)

I never could tell a lie that anybody would doubt, nor a truth that anybody would believe. (references; author: Mark Twain)

If you believe in telekinesis, raise my hand. (references; author: unknown)

Believe in miracles, but don't depend on them. (references; author: unknown)

You can't do anything, if you believe you can't. (references; author: unknown)

How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand. (references; author: unknown)

Believe (2002)

Only Make Believe (1973)

Believe in Me (1971)

I Believe in You (1952)

Please Believe Me (1950)

I BELIEVE IN YOU & ME  (performing artist: Four Tops )

Do You Believe In Love (performing artist: Huey Lewis & The News)

I Believe in You (performing artist: Johnnie Taylor)

Do You Believe In Us (performing artist: Jon Secada)

Do You Believe In Magic (performing artist: The Lovin' Spoonful)

Books

• Creepy Stuff (Ripley's Believe It or Not) (reference)

• World's Weirdest Critters (Ripley's Believe It or Not) (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team (reference)

• Gaither Vocal Band: I Do Believe (reference)

• Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (reference)

• Reason to Believe (reference)

• The Incredible Life and Times of Robert Ripley: Believe it or Not! (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Believe [ENHANCED] [EXPLICIT LYRICS] (reference)

• You Better Believe It (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech

• Ripley's Believe It Or Not! The Game (reference)

  (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Researchers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope believe they are seeing the conclusion of the ... Credit: NASA.

George Davidson observation cabin at San Luis Obispo, California Believe that Davidson is seated on left. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Cooking breakfast at a camp on the Olympic Peninsula Believe the chef is Harry A. Seran Triangulation party of Harry A. Seran. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

NSSL Doppler with rainshaft nearby. If you don't believe the radar, look out the window. Credit: National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL).

Petroglyphs rest on grounds overlooking the Agua Fria National Monument landscape. Archaeologists believe residents dwelled here in 1200 A.D. Credit: gene Dahlem.

Researchers believe alcohol interacts with cell membranes in the brain, which contain relatively large molecules called phospholipids. Credit: NIAA.

You Won't Believe Poster.

I believe there is going to be a boom. Credit: Library of Congress.

I believe I told her all manner of things that were to be. Credit: Library of Congress.

'I can't believe my eyes'. Credit: Library of Congress.

And I am also apt to believe, that where a family was numerous enough to subsist by itself, and continued entire together, without mixing with others, as it often happens, where there is much land, and few people, the government commonly began in the father: for the father having, by the law of nature, the same power with every man else to punish, as he thought fit, any offences against that law, might thereby punish his transgressing children, even when they were men, and out of their pupilage; and they were very likely to submit to his punishment, and all join with him against the offender, in their turns, giving him thereby power to execute his sentence against any transgression, and so in effect make him the law-maker, and governor over all that remained in conjunction with his family. (Second Treatise of Government)

I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does. (reference)

I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people of any other generation. (reference)

We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1957)

I rather believe you are giving me more credit for acuteness than I deserve

I believe I can tell you all about that

No, nor did he believe it even now.

So after a hectic week of believing that war was peace, that good was bad, that the moon was made of blue cheese, and that God needed a lot of money sent to a certain box number, the Monk started to believe that thirty-five percent of all tables were hermaphrodites, and then broke down

She shuddered to believe, yet could not help believing, that it gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts

For our part we do not believe this

Our day will come yet, believe me.

I believe it was near a minute before any one knew what was become of me, for I thought it below me to cry out.

The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior

Health

Middle age. It’s hard to believe. (references)

We believe platelets are overused in some conditions. (references)

People often believe normal passage of gas to be excessive. (references)

Business

Polish consumers believe U.S.-made products to be reliable. (references)

Further, we believe it is critical to do this work yourself. (references)

Poles hold the United States in very high regard and believe its products to be reliable. (references)

Children

Philippines

Welfare officials believe that the number is increasing as a result of widespread unemployment in rural areas. (references)

Guatemala

Children with physical disabilities often are discouraged from attending public schools, as teachers believe that they will not learn at the same speed as others. (references)

Guyana

It is unclear how many deaths from child abuse take place, since law enforcement officials believe that the vast majority of criminal child abuse cases are unreported. (references)

Civil Liberties

Liberia

Media practitioners believe that the ruling party funds many of these stations. (references)

South Africa

Some religious communities believe that the Government is too lenient in regards to PAGAD. (references)

Afghanistan

Many believe that Taliban authorities made these threats in response to critical reporting. (references)

Discrimination

South Africa

Legal recourse is available to those who believe that they have been discriminated against; however, entrenched attitudes and practices, as well as limited resources, limit the practical effect of these protections. (references)

Indonesia

An amendment to the Constitution adopted during 2000 introduced the possibility of affirmative action to achieve fair and equal treatment; however, some activists believe that because the amendment does not mention men or women specifically, it would not adequately protect women. (references)

Economic History

Norway

Few believe this is possible. (references)

Human Rights

Liberia

The men have not been seen since their arrest, and NGO's and relatives believe that they were killed. (references)

South Africa

In 2000 two guards were shot to death in Cape Town in what police believe was a strike-related attack. (references)

South Africa

In December 2000, two guards were shot to death in Cape Town in what police believe was a strike-related attack. (references)

Indigenous People

Guatemala

The 1994 census, the most recent, stated that 42.8 percent of the population is indigenous; however, most observers believe that this figure is low and that indigenous people constitute a majority of the population. (references)

Taiwan

Some Aborigine leaders have come to believe that only some form of autonomy can preserve their land rights, which constantly are threatened by Chinese developers who use connections and corruption to gain title to aboriginal land. (references)

Minorities

Kenya

Police officers did not believe the fire to be religiously motivated. (references)

Political Economy

Sierra Leone

International aid groups believe that girls who were abducted by the RUF may remain as sex slaves. (references)

Nigeria

The case is now at the Supreme Court, but many observers believe that a political settlement to the dispute will be reached. (references)

NORWAY

Norwegian officials believe that counterfeiting and piracy are the most important aspects of intellectual property rights protection. (references)

Political Rights

Saudi Arabia

In general journalists, academics, and businessmen believe that institutionalized avenues of domestic criticism of the regime are closed. (references)

Nigeria

In 2000 there were few military retirements, and although they appear to reflect an ethnic or religious bias, some in the north believe that the northern Hausa are underrepresented in the military. (references)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The SDP party office in Vitez suffered extensive damage in a bomb explosion on May 1; police arrested a Croat man in the attack, which police believe was motivated by the HDZ's self-government drive. (references)

Trade

Kuwait

However, if the customs officials believe the declared value is not realistic, they may make their own assessment. (references)

Ireland

The import, export, or transit of non-Irish goods, having markings which would lead one to believe that the goods are of Irish manufacture or origin, are prohibited. (references)

Panama

If non-tariff barriers are not eliminated it is likely that the dispute will be formally submitted to WTO by one or more of the supplying countries that believe them to be in violation of the treaty. (references)

Women

Benin

NGO observers believe that women remain reluctant to report cases. (references)

Indonesia

Both government officials and NGO leaders familiar with FGM problems believe invasive FGM practices are declining. (references)

Indonesia

Women's rights activists believe that rape is seriously underreported due to the social stigma attached to victims. (references)

Worker Rights

Burkina Faso

Union officials believe that this system functions adequately. (references)

Korea

Police believe that Lim was responsible for the trafficking of hundreds of persons. (references)

United Kingdom

They usually are deceived by their parents and believe that they are visiting family. (references)

Expressions using "believe": believe in ♦ believe in ghosts ♦ believe in god ♦ believe in smb. ♦ believe it or not ♦ believe one's ears ♦ believe smb. capable of ♦ believe smb.'s bare word ♦ believe that ♦ believe wrongly ♦ but I didn't believe it ♦ come to believe ♦ i believe not ♦ i believe so ♦ i don't believe you ♦ indisposed to believe ♦ lead to believe ♦ let those believe who may ♦ make a person believe ♦ make believe ♦ not believe ♦ not believe one's ears ♦ not believe one's eyes ♦ not believe one's senses ♦ not to believe ♦ not to believe one's eyes ♦ refuse to believe ♦ scarcely believe it ♦ seeing that you do not believe me ♦ To believe in ♦ To believe on ♦ To make believe ♦ unable to believe one's senses ♦ was i wrong to believe him? ♦ would you believe it?. Additional references.

Beginning with "believe": believe-it-or-not, believe-yet-doubt.

Ending with "believe": half-believe, i-believe, make-believe, the land of make-believe.

Containing "believe": Can't-believe-a-word-he-says, we'll-believe-it-when-we-see-it, what's-happening-i-don't-believe-this-honey, would-you-believe-it.

Afrikaans

meen (deem, guess, presume, suppose, surmise), glo (deem). (various references)

Albanian

besoj (accredit, calculate, commit, confide, consign, credit, entrust, guess, hold, intrust, rely, Trow, trust, understand, ween). (various references)

Arabic 

‏قدر (afford, amount, appraise, appreciate, assess, assume, be able to, be capable of, can, consider, cost, count, deal, degree, esteem, estimate, evaluate, guess, lot, magnitude, manage to, measure, number, predestination, predestine, predetermine, presume, prize, proportion, quantity, rate, size, suppose, think, treasure, value, volume), ‏وثق (authenticate, confide, constrain, corroborate, document, notarize, pin one's faith on, rely, trust), ‏صدق (accept, approve, assent, attest, certify, confirm, credit, genuineness, hold good, make believe, notarize, ok, okay, okey, probity, ratify, sanction, sincerity, trueness, trustiness, truth, validity, veracity, verity), ‏إعتقد (calculate, conceive, consider, deem, imagine, reckon, say, suppose, think), ‏أمن (assure, be safe, feel, indemnify, insure, peace, safeness, safety, security, trustee, underwrite), ‏أعتقد. (various references)

Aymara

cheqausaña (to believe). (various references)

Blackfoot

omai'taki (to believe). (various references)

Bulgarian 

вярвам (accredit, credit, hope, trust), предполагам (assume, conjecture, divine, expect, guess, imagine, implicate, imply, postulate, presume, presuppose, reckon, suppose, suspect, take, take a notion, think, think for, ween), повярвам (give credit to), доверявам се (confide in, string along with, trust, unbosom). (various references)

Catalan

creure (account, accredit, deem). (various references)

Chinese 

相信 (be convinced, to accept sth. as true). (various references)

Czech

vìřit (credit), myslet si (guess). (various references)

Danish

tro (belief, deem, faithful, loyal). (various references)

Dutch

menen (deem, suppose), houden voor (deem), geloven (deem, opine, think). (various references)

Esperanto

kredi (deem). (various references)

Faeroese

trúgva (account, accredit, deem), halda (account, accredit, celebrate, deem, guess, hang onto, have a subscription, hold, presume, retain, suppose, surmise, take in). (various references)

Farsi 

معتقدبودن , گمان داشتن , ایمان اوردن , اعتقادکردن (Credit), اعتقادداشتن , باورکردن (Yield). (various references)

Finnish

uskoa (account, accredit, confide, deem, entrust to, trust, trust a person with, trust oneself to). (various references)

Flemish

geloof. (various references)

French

crois, croire. (various references)

Frisian

leauwe (account, accredit, belief, deem, religion). (various references)

German

glauben (belief, beliefs, think). (various references)

Greek 

πιστεύω (credit, take the view, to believe). (various references)

Haitian Creole

kwè. (various references)

Hawaiian

besue (account, accredit, deem). (various references)

Hebrew 

להאמין (confide, place trust in, rely, trust), לסבור (deem, mean, opine, reckon, suppose, surmise, think), האמין. (various references)

Hungarian

vél (to calculate, to surmise), hisz (to calculate), gondol (think, to judge, to remember), elhisz (to buy the farm, to credit). (various references)

Icelandic

trúa (account, accredit, deem). (various references)

Indonesian

percaya, meyakini (be convinced about), akidah (faith). (various references)

Irish

creid (account, accredit, deem). (various references)

Italian

credere (deem, account, accredit). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

真に受ける (to believe, to take seriously), 満更でもない (not as dissatisfiedashe would have us believe), 南無阿弥陀仏 (I sincerely believe in Amitabha, Lord have mercy on me), 徹する (to believe in, to devote oneself, to do intently and exclusively, to go through, to penetrate, to sink in), 奉ずる (to believe in, to dedicate, to follow, to obey, to present, to serve), 信ずる (to believe, to believe in, to confide in, to have faith in, to place trust in), 信愛 (intimacy, love and believe in), 信じ込ます (to lead to believe), 信じ込む (to believe firmly, to believe implicitly), 信じるに至る (to come to believe), 信じる (to believe, to believe in, to confide in, to have faith in, to place trust in). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

なむあみだぶつ (I sincerely believe in Amitabha, Lord have mercy on me), しんずる (to believe, to believe in, to confide in, to have faith in, to offer, to place trust in, to present), しんあい (beloved, dear, deep affection, intimacy, love and believe in), しんじこます (to lead to believe), しんじこむ (to believe firmly, to believe implicitly), しんじるにいたる (to come to believe), しんじる (to believe, to believe in, to confide in, to have faith in, to place trust in), まにうける (to believe, to take seriously), まんざらでもない (not as dissatisfiedashe would have us believe), ほうずる (to believe in, to dedicate, to follow, to inform, to obey, to present, to report, to serve), てっする (to believe in, to devote oneself, to do intently and exclusively, to go through, to penetrate, to sink in). (various references)

Korean 

믿으십시요. (various references)

Manx

credjal (credence, credit). (various references)

Norwegian

tror, tro (belief). (various references)

Papiamen

kere (account, accredit, deem). (various references)

Pig Latin

elievebay.(various references)

Polish

wierzyć (account, accredit, deem). (various references)

Portuguese

crer (deem), acreditar (deem, accredit). (various references)

Romanian

crede (account, accredit, assume, consider, credit, deem, expect, fancy, figure, guess, imagine, put credit in, reckon, seeing is believing, suppose, think). (various references)

Romansch

crair (to believe). (various references)

Romany

pakyàv (to believe). (various references)

Russian 

верить (credited, trow, trust in). (various references)

Scottish

creid (account, accredit, deem). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

verovati (trow, trust), pretpostavljati (conjecture, guess, presume, ween), poverovati, pouzdati se (depend, rely). (various references)

Sicilian

cridiri (to believe). (