disbelieve
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to reject as false or lying; refuse to accept as true or truthful
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to have no faith (in)
disbelieve in God
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has disbelievedperfect 3rd person singular
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have disbelievedperfect
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am disbelievingprogressive 1st person singular
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are disbelievingprogressive
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is disbelievingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been disbelievingperfect progressive
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has been disbelievingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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disbelievingparticiple
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disbelievessingular 3rd person
Past
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had disbelievedperfect
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had been disbelievingperfect progressive
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was disbelievingprogressive singular
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were disbelievingprogressive plural
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disbelievedsimple
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disbelievedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of disbelieve
Explanation
When you disbelieve someone, you're unable to trust what they're saying. A detective is likely to disbelieve a suspect who's sweating nervously and not making eye contact. Believing something or someone means you've got confidence or faith. Add the prefix dis- to believe, and it's the exact opposite. If your cousin is famous for his tall tales, you'll probably disbelieve his story about meeting the Queen in England last summer. And if a jury disbelieves someone's testimony, they're likely to discount it when they start deliberating.
Vocabulary lists containing disbelieve
Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 2
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The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle
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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.
"That you can drop a person in the sea with a life jacket in a war zone was something people automatically chose to disbelieve," Mr Gonsalves said.
From BBC • Aug. 28, 2025
Few of the now grown-up McMartin children have spoken publicly, but some have described the pressure to fabricate stories or disbelieve innocent memories in favor of traumatic ones.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2024
When truth is stranger than fiction, it is often easier to disbelieve, at least until the facts make it impossible to ignore reality.
From Salon • Jan. 24, 2024
Mr. Johnston said, “You cannot disbelieve the resurrection based on the historical accounts that we have. It is so well attested.”
From Washington Times • Apr. 6, 2023
I myself did not know how I could have produced so beautiful a child, and I was proud of her and glad, even when people pretended to disbelieve that I could be her mother.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
