belief

[ bih-leef ]

See synonyms for: belief beliefs on Thesaurus.com

noun

something believed; an opinion or conviction: a belief that the earth is flat.
confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof: a statement unworthy of belief.

confidence; faith; trust: a child's belief in his parents.
a religious tenet or tenets; religious creed or faith: the Christian belief.

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

synonym study For belief

2. 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 words for belief

1	view, tenet, conclusion, persuasion
2	assurance
4	doctrine, dogma

See synonyms for belief on Thesaurus.com

Other words from belief

pre·be·lief, noun
su·per·be·lief, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use belief in a sentence

Interesting that those who sat in judgment of him found those two sets of beliefs to be incompatible.
In Defense of Blasphemy | Michael Tomasky | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Whatever the reason, and however absurd their beliefs may seem, American evangelicals are deadly serious.
The Evangelical Apocalypse Is All Your Fault | Jay Michaelson | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
My understanding was that according to most Christian beliefs, being trans or gay was a sin, cut and dry.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen | Parker Molloy | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
If anything, officer training and in-field policing methodologies reinforce those beliefs.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face? | Goldie Taylor | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Instead, he is cruelly jailed solely for the peaceful expression of his beliefs.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015 | Movements.Org | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

There he might yet live among men of his own race and degree, and of congenial beliefs and occupations.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
"I mean that most men hold so strongly to life, and can give up so little for their beliefs," he said gravely.
Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
The truth is, in giving up the idea of guardian angels and similar beliefs we have given up some of the greatest comforts in life.
The Everlasting Arms | Joseph Hocking
It is filled throughout with legends relating to the Devil, and with superstitious beliefs of the Middle Age.
Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred Downer
Mistral's poetic ideas have been largely suggested to him by popular beliefs and the stories he heard at his fireside when a boy.
Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred Downer

British Dictionary definitions for belief

belief

/ (bɪˈliːf) /

noun

a principle, proposition, idea, etc, accepted as true
opinion; conviction

religious faith
trust or confidence, as in a person or a person's abilities, probity, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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