. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
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.
Pronunciation
Verb
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
If you believe the numbers, you'll agree we need change.
I believe there are faeries.
1898 September, Alexander E. Outerbridge Jr., “Curiosities of American Coinage”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume 53, D. Appleton & Company, page 601: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.
2014 June 21, “Magician’s brain”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8892:[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.
- (transitive) To accept that someone is telling the truth.
- Synonyms: trust, (Cockney rhyming slang) Adam and Eve
Why did I ever believe you?
- (intransitive) To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.
After that night in the church, I believed.
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:[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, […]
- (transitive) To opine, think, reckon.
Do you think this is good? —Hmm, I believe it's okay.
2017 February 1, Stephen Buranyi, quoting Marcel van Assen, “The high-tech war on science fraud”, in The Guardian:“Some people believe him charismatic,” Van Assen told me. “I am less sensitive to it.”
- (transitive with in)
- To ascribe existence to.
Do you believe in God / the Easter Bunny / ghosts?
Since I don't believe in reincarnation, I believe that the only way to eliminate suffering is to die.
- To believe that (something) is right or desirable.
I don't believe in sex before marriage.
I don't believe in making my bed.
2017 June 23, “Is spokes model Cindy Margolis married or single after her divorce with Guy Starkman, Know her current affairs”, in Hitberry.com:The couple is one of the celebrities who believed in open relationships.
- To have confidence in the ability or power of.
I believe in you, man! You can do it!
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:Ambassador Udina: The other species are scared. They've never faced anything like this before and they don't know what to do. They want us to step forward. They believe in humanity because of you.
Ambassador Udina: Your ruthless pursuit of Saren and the geth, your defiance of the Council -- that's what humans are capable of! That's how we can defeat the Reapers!
Ambassador Udina: The others will follow us, Shepard. They know we're their only hope. We will have a human Council with a human Chairman.
Usage notes
- The direct transitive sense and the prepositionally transitive sense 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
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
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)
- Ingrian: uskoa
- 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 (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)
- Lü: please add this translation if you can
- Luxembourgish: gleewen
- 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)
- Ottoman Turkish: اینانمق (inanmak)
- Persian: باور کردن (fa) (bâvar kardan), باوریدن (fa), اعتقاد داشتن (e'teqâd dâštan)
- 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)
- Sranan Tongo: bribi
- 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
- Ottoman Turkish: اینانمق (inanmak)
- 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
|
to believe that something is right or desirable
Translations to be checked
Dutch
Pronunciation
Verb
believe
- (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of believen
Anagrams