belief
Americannoun
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something believed; an opinion or conviction.
a belief that the earth is flat.
- Synonyms:
- persuasion, conclusion, tenet, view
-
confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof.
a statement unworthy of belief.
- Synonyms:
- assurance
-
confidence; faith; trust.
a child's belief in his parents.
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a religious tenet or tenets; religious creed or faith.
the Christian belief.
noun
-
a principle, proposition, idea, etc, accepted as true
-
opinion; conviction
-
religious faith
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trust or confidence, as in a person or a person's abilities, probity, etc
Related Words
Belief, certainty, conviction refer to acceptance of, or confidence in, an alleged fact or body of facts as true or right without positive knowledge or proof. Belief is such acceptance in general: belief in astrology. Certainty indicates unquestioning belief and positiveness in one's own mind that something is true: I know this for a certainty. Conviction is settled, profound, or earnest belief that something is right: a conviction that a decision is just.
Other Word Forms
- prebelief noun
- superbelief noun
Etymology
Origin of belief
First recorded in 1125–75; earlier bile(e)ve (noun use of verb); replacing Middle English bileave, equivalent to bi- be- + leave (probably from Old English -lēafa “belief”); cognate with Dutch geloof, German Glaube; akin to Gothic galaubeins
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Today, Boeing stock is supported by the belief that the company will soon generate $10 billion in annual free cash flow.
From Barron's
These achievements helped upend the music industry’s long-held belief that singing in Spanish would limit artists’ reach and prevent them from conquering the U.S., the world’s biggest music market.
"He has the authenticity and the communication skills, and when you have that, you can conjure belief in people," he said.
From BBC
I didn’t fold myself into a smaller version to fit the space; I instead arrived with a hint of defiance and the enduring belief that being uprooted doesn’t have to mean being undone.
From Los Angeles Times
There was also a widely-held belief that migrants calling from small boats exaggerated the distress, meaning the Coastguard underestimated the emergency.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
