Believe
[bɪ'liːv] or [bɪ'liv]
Definition
(verb.) accept as true; take to be true; 'I believed his report'; 'We didn't believe his stories from the War'; 'She believes in spirits'.
(verb.) credit with veracity; 'You cannot believe this man'; 'Should we believe a publication like the National Enquirer?'.
(verb.) follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer; 'When you hear his sermons, you will be able to believe, too'.
(verb.) be confident about something; 'I believe that he will come back from the war'.
Inputed by Billy--From WordNet
Definition
(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.
(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.
(v. i.) To think; to suppose.
Inputed by Josiah
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Credit, give credit to, think to be true, give faith to, put faith in, rely upon, make no doubt of, put confidence in.
v. n. [1]. Exercise faith, have faith, have a firm persuasion.[2]. Think, suppose, conceive, fancy, apprehend, imagine, hold. OPINE, be of opinion, entertain the idea, take it.
Checked by Bertrand
Definition
v.t. to regard as true: to trust in.—v.i. to be firmly persuaded of anything: to exercise faith (with in on): to think or suppose.—n. Belief′ persuasion of the truth of anything: faith: the opinion or doctrine believed: intuition natural judgment (as used by some philosophers).—adjs. Belief′less; Believ′able that may be believed.—n. Believ′er one who believes: a professor of Christianity.—p.adj. Believ′ing trustful.—adv. Believ′ingly.—The Belief (arch.) the Apostles' Creed.—To make believe to pretend.
Typed by Frank
Examples
- I believe that he would have come all the way had it not been that Dr. Ferrier, who lives near me, was going down by that very train. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- He would have taken it before now, I believe, but for Fledgeby. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I believe I could make an independent fortune in a few years if I devoted myself exclusively to portraits, so great is the desire for good portraits in the different country towns. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- I say this here for two reasons--because I hope to avoid the critical attack of the genuine Marxian specialist, and because the observation is, I believe, relevant to our subject. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- And I'm bound to say Lily DOES distract it: I believe he'd marry her tomorrow if he found out there was anything wrong with Bertha. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- He was an officer in the Artillery, and a near relation to Lady Hyde Parker, I believe. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Although I had heard it with my own ears I could not believe it. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- It was generally believed that there would be a flurry; that some of the extreme Southern States would go so far as to pass ordinances of secession. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- I believed all I heard. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- I could not have believed it. Jane Austen. Emma.
- I am quite ready to go in for it, to the same extent as if I believed it. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Faust was dissatisfied with Gutenberg, and took occasion to tell Sch?ffer one evening that he believed the firm would do better without the master. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- Now look at the Galeopithecus or so-called flying lemur, which was formerly ranked among bats, but is now believed to belong to the Insectivora. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- She has never believed any ill of him, never. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Cautious, very cautious, thought Emma; he advances inch by inch, and will hazard nothing till he believes himself secure. Jane Austen. Emma.
- But a man who believes in something else than his own greed, has necessarily a conscience or standard to which he more or less adapts himself. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- He believes that Willoughby Smith had not an enemy in the world, and can give no reason for the crime. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- He knows of no direct bodily illness that he has; on the contrary, he believes that he has none. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Believes the same. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- But it is wrongfully; every one knows that; no one believes it, surely, Ernest? Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Your Grace still believes me desirous of the honour I might obtain by forcing myself on you as your despised relative? Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- I now ventured to turn my head back, believing myself at a safe distance from the stranger. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- She ran along the sea beach, believing the old boat was theer; and calling out to us to turn away our faces, for she was a-coming by. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- When a man cannot measure, and a great many others who cannot measure declare that he is four cubits high, can he help believing what they say? Plato. The Republic.
- Believing, however, in the practicability of capturing Richmond unless it was reinforced, I made that the objective point of his operations. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- And what, said Fanny (believing herself required to speak), what could you say? Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- You must give me leave to judge for myself, and pay me the compliment of believing what I say. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- He himself stayed in London, believing there were better chances for the sale of his machine there than in America. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
Typed by Ann