believe

be·lieve  (b-lv)

v. be·lieved, be·liev·ing, be·lieves

v.tr.

1. To accept as true or real: Do you believe the news stories?

2. To credit with veracity: I believe you.

3. To expect or suppose; think: I believe they will arrive shortly.

v.intr.

1. To have firm faith, especially religious faith.

2. To have faith, confidence, or trust: I believe in your ability to solve the problem.

3. To have confidence in the truth or value of something: We believe in free speech.

4. To have an opinion; think: They have already left, I believe.

Idioms:

believe (one's) ears

To trust what one has heard.

believe (one's) eyes

To trust what one has seen.

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[Middle English bileven, from Old English belfan, belfan, gelfan; see leubh- in Indo-European roots.]

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be·liever n.

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believe [bɪˈliːv]

vb

1. (tr; may take a clause as object) to accept (a statement, supposition, or opinion) as true I believe God exists

2. (tr) to accept the statement or opinion of (a person) as true

3. (intr; foll by in) to be convinced of the truth or existence (of) to believe in fairies

4. (intr) to have religious faith

5. (when tr, takes a clause as object) to think, assume, or suppose I believe that he has left already

6. (tr; foll by of; used with can, could, would, etc) to think that someone is able to do (a particular action) I wouldn't have believed it of him

[Old English beliefan]

believability  n

believable  adj

believably  adv

believer  n

believing  n & adj

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	believe - accept as true; take to be true; "I believed his report"; "We didn't believe his stories from the War"; "She believes in spirits" understand, infer - believe to be the case; "I understand you have no previous experience?" swallow - believe or accept without questioning or challenge; "Am I supposed to swallow that story?" buy - accept as true; "I can't buy this story" believe - follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer; "When you hear his sermons, you will be able to believe, too" accept - consider or hold as true; "I cannot accept the dogma of this church"; "accept an argument" rely, trust, swear, bank - have confidence or faith in; "We can trust in God"; "Rely on your friends"; "bank on your good education"; "I swear by my grandmother's recipes" believe in - have a firm conviction as to the goodness of something; "John believes in oat bran" disbelieve, discredit - reject as false; refuse to accept
	2.	believe - 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" think, conceive, consider hold - remain committed to; "I hold to these ideas" pass judgment, evaluate, judge - form a critical opinion of; "I cannot judge some works of modern art"; "How do you evaluate this grant proposal?" "We shouldn't pass judgment on other people" rethink - change one's mind; "He rethought his decision to take a vacation" think - dispose the mind in a certain way; "Do you really think so?" look upon, regard as, repute, take to be, esteem, look on, think of - look on as or consider; "she looked on this affair as a joke"; "He thinks of himself as a brilliant musician"; "He is reputed to be intelligent" feel - have a feeling or perception about oneself in reaction to someone's behavior or attitude; "She felt small and insignificant"; "You make me feel naked"; "I made the students feel different about themselves" consider, regard, view, reckon, see - deem to be; "She views this quite differently from me"; "I consider her to be shallow"; "I don't see the situation quite as negatively as you do"
	3.	believe - be confident about something; "I believe that he will come back from the war" trust anticipate, expect - regard something as probable or likely; "The meteorologists are expecting rain for tomorrow"
	4.	believe - follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer; "When you hear his sermons, you will be able to believe, too" faith, religion, religious belief - a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality" believe - accept as true; take to be true; "I believed his report"; "We didn't believe his stories from the War"; "She believes in spirits" misbelieve - hold a false or unorthodox belief
	5.	believe - credit with veracity; "You cannot believe this man"; "Should we believe a publication like the National Enquirer?" credit - have trust in; trust in the truth or veracity of

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believe

verb

1. think, consider, judge, suppose, maintain, estimate, imagine, assume, gather, guess (informal, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), reckon, conclude, deem, speculate, presume, conjecture, postulate, surmise I believe you have something of mine.

2. accept, hold, buy (slang), trust, credit, depend on, rely on, swallow (informal), count on, buy into (slang), have faith in, swear by, be certain of, be convinced of, place confidence in, presume true, take as gospel, take on (U.S.) Don't believe what you read in the papers.
accept question, doubt, distrust, disbelieve

believe in someone trust in, have faith in, place reliance on, place your trust in, pin your faith on, place confidence in If you believe in yourself you can succeed.

believe in something advocate, champion, approve of, swear by He believed in marital fidelity.

Quotations
"To believe with certainty we must begin with doubting" [Stanislaus I of Poland Maxims]
"Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable" [Oscar Wilde The Decay of Lying]
"We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe" [Cardinal Newman Letter to Mrs William Froude]
"It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving, it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe" [Thomas Paine The Age of Reason]
"Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe" Bible: St. John
"Though ye believe not me, believe the works" Bible: St. John

Translations

believe [bɪˈliːv]

A. VT

1. (= think) → creer
I believe so → creo que sí
I believe not → creo que no
he is believed to be abroad → se cree que está en el extranjero

2. [+ story, evidence, person] → creer
don't you believe it! → ¡no te lo creas!
believe it or not, she bought it → aunque parezca mentira, lo compró
it was hot, believe (you) me → hacía calor, ¡y cómo!
I couldn't believe my eyes → no podía dar crédito a mis ojos
do you really believe the threat? → ¿crees de veras en la amenaza?
I would never have believed it of him → jamás le hubiera creído capaz de eso

B. VI → creer
to believe in God → creer en Dios
I don't believe in corporal punishment → no soy partidario del castigo corporal
we don't believe in drugs → no aprobamos el uso de las drogas

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believe [bɪˈliːv]

vt [+ person, thing] → croire
I don't believe you → Je ne te crois pas.
believe it or not → vous me croirez si vous voulez
would you believe it! → vous rendez-vous compte?
believe you me → croyez-moi
I couldn't believe my eyes → je n'en croyais pas mes yeux
I couldn't believe my ears → je n'en croyais pas mes oreilles

vi → croire
to believe in [+ God] → croire en; [+ ghosts] → croire à
Do you believe in ghosts? → Tu crois aux fantômes?; [+ method] → croire à
I don't believe in corporal punishment
BUT Je ne suis pas partisan des châtiments corporels.
to be believed to be ...
He is believed to be abroad → Il serait à l'étranger.
to believe (that) ... (= think) → croire que ..., penser que ...
to believe in sb → croire en qn, avoir confiance en qn
to believe in o.s. → avoir confiance en soi

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believe

vt

sth → glauben; sb → glauben (+dat); I don’t believe you → das glaube ich (Ihnen) nicht; don’t you believe it → wers glaubt, wird selig (inf); it’s true, please believe me → es stimmt, bitte glauben Sie mir das; believe me, I mean it → glauben Sie mir, es ist mir ernst or Ernst; believe you me! (inf) → das können Sie mir glauben!; believe it or not → ob Sies glauben oder nicht; would you believe it! (inf) → ist das (denn) die Möglichkeit (inf); I would never have believed it of him → das hätte ich nie von ihm geglaubt; he could hardly believe his eyes/ears → er traute seinen Augen/Ohren nicht; if he is to be believed → wenn man ihm glauben darf or Glauben schenken kann

(= think) → glauben; he is believed to be ill → es heißt, dass er krank ist; I believe so/not → ich glaube schon/nicht ? make-believe

vi (= have a religious faith) → an Gott glauben; you must believe! → Sie müssen glauben!

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believe [bɪˈliːv]

1. vt (story, person) → credere a
to believe (that) (be of the opinion that) → credere (che)
I don't believe he'll come → non credo che verrà or che venga
don't you believe it! → non crederci!
I don't believe a word of it! → non credo a una parola di tutto questo!
he is believed to be abroad → si pensa (che) sia all'estero

2. vi → credere
to believe in (God) → credere in (ghosts) → credere a (method) → avere fiducia in
I don't believe in corporal punishment → sono contrario alle punizioni corporali

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believe [bɪˈliːv]

1. vt (story, person) → credere a
to believe (that) (be of the opinion that) → credere (che)
I don't believe he'll come → non credo che verrà or che venga
don't you believe it! → non crederci!
I don't believe a word of it! → non credo a una parola di tutto questo!
he is believed to be abroad → si pensa (che) sia all'estero

2. vi → credere
to believe in (God) → credere in (ghosts) → credere a (method) → avere fiducia in
I don't believe in corporal punishment → sono contrario alle punizioni corporali

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believe

v believe [biˈliːv]

1 to regard (something) as true I believe his story. glo يُصَدِّق вярвам věřit tro på glauben πιστεύω κτ. ως αληθινό creer uskuma باور کردن uskoa croire לְהַאֲמִין विश्वास करना vjerovati hisz mempercayai trúa, leggja trúnað á credere 信じる (어떤 것을) 믿다 tikėti ticēt percaya geloven tro (på) wierzyć acreditar a crede верить veriť verjeti verovati tro [] เชื่อว่าจริง inanmak 相信 вірити یقین کرنا công nhận 相信

2 to trust (a person), accepting what he says as true I believe you. glo يَثِقُ بِكَلام вярвам důvěřovat tro på glauben εμπιστεύομαι, πιστεύω κπ. creer uskuma اطمینان کردن؛ باور داشتن luottaa croire לְהַאֲמִין मानना vjerovati bízik percaya treysta, trúa á credere 信用する (남을) 믿다 tikėti uzticēties percaya geloven tro wierzyć acreditar a crede доверять dôverovať verjeti verovati tro [] เชื่อ güvenmek 信任 довіряти بھروسہ کرنا tin tưởng 信任

3 to think (that) I believe he's ill. glo يَعْتَقِد мисля domnívat se, myslet mene; tro glauben νομίζω ότι creer (que), pensar (que) arvama پنداشتن؛ فکر کردن ajatella croire (que) לְהַאֲמִין समझना misliti, držati gondol mengira halda, álíta credere ～と思う 생각하다 manyti domāt; uzskatīt fikir geloven mene, tro przypuszczać achar a crede (că) полагать myslieť misliti smatrati tro คิด sanmak, zannetmek 認為 думати, гадати کا خیال ہونا ، سوچنا tưởng 认为

adj beˈlievable

geloofbaar قابِل للتَّصْديق правдоподобен uvěřitelný troværdig glaubhaft πιστευτός creíble usutav باورکردنی uskottava croyable אָמִין विश्वसनीय, विश्वास योग्य vjerojatan (el)hihető bisa dipercaya trúanlegur credibile 信じられる 믿을 수 있는 įtikėtinas ticams boleh dipercayai geloofwaardig troverdig, trolig wiarygodny acreditável credibil правдоподобный uveriteľný verjeten verovatan trolig, trovärdig ที่น่าเชื่อถือ inanılır 可信的 ймовірний, правдоподібний قابل یقین có thể tin được 可信任的

n beˈlief [-f]

1 faith or trust I have no belief in his ability. geloof تَصْديق، ثِقَـه вяра důvěra tro der Glaube πίστη, εμπιστοσύνη confianza, fe usk, usaldus اعتقاد؛ ایمان usko foi, confiance אֱמוּנָה विश्वास povjerenje hit, bizalom keyakinan tiltrú, traust fiducia 信念 신념, 확신 (pasi)tikėjimas ticība; uzticība kepercayaan geloof tro zaufanie crença credinţă, încredere вера, доверие viera, dôvera zaupanje verovanje tro, tilltro, förtroende ความเชื่อ güven, inanç 相信，信任 віра, довіра یقین ، بھروسہ ، اعتماد sự tin tưởng 相信

2 (often in plural) something believed Christian beliefs. geloof إيمان убеждение víra tro; lære der Glaube πεποίθηση, (το) πιστεύω creencia uskumus باور uskomus croyance(s) אֱמוּנָה आस्था vjerovanje hit kepercayaan trú, átrúnaður credenza 信仰 신앙, 교리 tikėjimas pārliecība; ticība kepercayaan geloof tro, lære wierzenie credo credinţă вера, верование viera vera uverenje tro, trossats ความศรัทธา inanç, iman, inanış 信仰 віра, вірування عقیدہ ، ایمان tín ngưỡng 信仰

n beˈliever

a person who has (especially religious) beliefs a true believer. gelowige مُؤْمِن вярващ věřící troende der/die Gläubige ο πιστός, οπαδός μιας θρησκείας creyente usklik معتقد؛ با ایمان uskova croyant/-ante מַאֲמִין धार्मिक विश्वास रखने वाला vjernik hívő orang beriman, penganut trúmaður credente 信者 믿는 사람 tikintysis ticīgais penganut gelovige troende, tilhenger (av) wierzący crente credincios верующий veriaci vernik vernik troende [] ผู้ที่เชื่อถือ inanan, mümin 信仰者 віруючий ایل ایمان ، عقیدت مند tín đồ 信仰者

believe in

to accept the existence or recognize the value of (something) Do you believe in ghosts?; He believes in capital punishment. spook شَبَح призрак duch ånd; spøgelse der Geist φάντασμα fantasma vaim, tont روح aave fantôme רוח רפאים भूत duh, prikaza szellem hantu draugur, afturganga fantasma 幽霊 유령 dvasia, šmėkla, vaiduoklis parādība; rēgs; spoks hantu spook spøkelse, gjenferd duch fantasma fantomă привидение duch duh duh spöke, vålnad ผี hayalet 鬼魂 привид بھوت ma 幽灵；鬼

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believe → يُؤْمِن, يُصدِّق, يُصَفِي حساباً myslet (si), uvěřit regne med, tro glauben, meinen λογαριάζω, πιστεύω creer, opinar olla jotain mieltä, uskoa croire, penser držati, misliti, vjerovati calcolare, credere 信じる, 信仰する, 判断する ...을 믿다, 간주하다, 믿다 geloven, rekenen synes, tro przypuścić, uwierzyć acreditar, crer, pensar верить, считать räkna ut, tro เชื่อ, เลื่อมใส ศรัทธา, คิดว่า พิจารณาว่า ถือว่า düşünmek, inandırmak, inanmak nghĩ là, tin, tin tưởng 猜想, 相信, 笃信宗教