English
rank|kind|form|hundred|280|believe|white|means|thus
Etymology
Old English l�fan
Pronunciation
(Received Pronunciation|UK & General American|US) IPA|/bɪ�li�v/, /b��li�v/, SAMPA|/bI"li:v/, /b@"li:v/
audio|en-us-believe.ogg|Audio (US)
Hyphenation: be·lieve
Verb
en-verb|believ|ing
- transitive To accept that someone is telling the truth.
#:* Why did I ever believe you?
- transitive To accept as true.
#:* If you believe the numbers, you'll agree we need change.
- transitive To consider likely.
#:* I believe it might rain tomorrow.
- intransitive To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.
#:* After that night in the church, I believed.
Usage notes
The transitive verb believe and the phrasal verb believe in 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 place faith in that person or concept: believe in liberty, believe in God. To �believe in one's fellow man� means to place faith in mankind.
Meanings sometimes overlap. To believe in a religious text would also require affirming at least the major principles. To believe a religious text would likewise imply placing one's faith in it.
Quotations
1611 � w:King James Version of the Bible|King James Version of the Bible, s:Bible (King James)/Luke|Luke 1:1
:Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us...
Derived terms
believable
believability
believe in
believer
can you believe
disbelieve
unbelievable
unbeliever
Related terms
belief
disbelief
Translations
trans-top|to accept that someone is telling the truth (object: person)
Czech: v��it
trans-mid
trans-bottom
checktrans-top
Croatian: vjerovati
Chinese: �信 (xi�ngxìn)
Dutch: geloven
Estonian: uskuma
Finnish: uskoa, arvella
French: croire
German: glauben
Greek: θε��ή�ει
Ido: kredar
Indonesian: percaya
Italian: credere
trans-mid
Japanese: 信�� (����, shinjiru)
Khmer: KMchar|�� (jeu�)
Latin: credere
Norwegian: tro
Polish: wierzy�, s�dzi�
Portuguese: acreditar em (1); acreditar, crêr (2); acreditar em (3)
Romanian: crede
Russian: ве�и�� (verit�)
Slovene: verovati
Spanish: creer
trans-bottom
et:believe
el:believe
es:believe
fa:believe
fr:believe
gl:believe
ko:believe
io:believe
id:believe
it:believe
kk:believe
hu:believe
ja:believe
pl:believe
ru:believe
simple:believe
fi:believe
sv:believe
ta:believe
te:believe
vi:believe
tr:believe
zh:believe
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