disbelieve
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(tr) to reject as false or lying; refuse to accept as true or truthful
-
to have no faith (in)
disbelieve in God
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disbelievesimple
-
disbelievessimple
-
have disbelievedperfect
-
has disbelievedperfect
-
am disbelievingprogressive
-
are disbelievingprogressive
-
is disbelievingprogressive
-
have been disbelievingperfect progressive
-
has been disbelievingperfect progressive
Past
-
disbelievedsimple
-
had disbelievedperfect
-
was disbelievingprogressive
-
were disbelievingprogressive
-
had been disbelievingperfect progressive
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
See Examples For:
"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
But the contradictions did not cause jurors to disbelieve her, said Harry MacLean, who wrote about the case in the book “Once Upon a Time: A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2024
It's not that they disbelieve Ford, so much as they don't think she had a right to say anything about it.
From Salon ● May 9, 2023
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
He looked at me, defying me to disbelieve him.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Anyone who claims not to understand the concept of the poverty-to-prison pipeline or disbelieves the word of the wrongfully convicted cannot watch this show and still legitimately hold on to that illusion.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2022
"Categorising the claims that have been made as 'distorted, and in many cases false' creates a company atmosphere that disbelieves victims," it reads.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2021
Categorizing the claims that have been made as “distorted, and in many cases false” creates a company atmosphere that disbelieves victims.
From The Verge ● Jul. 26, 2021
Whether one believes or disbelieves the allegations, the individuals’ reactions were opposite.
From Washington Post ● May 5, 2020
"There is no skepticism so offensive as that which doubts the facts of honest and careful observation; no Infidelity so gross as that which disbelieves the deductions of competent and unbiased judgments."
From Men, Women, and Gods And Other Lectures by Gardener, Helen H. (Helen Hamilton)
When she did, she was maliciously disbelieved and ridiculed by the likes of Drake and 50 Cent.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026
Hanna has sometimes worried that if she put it all out there, she would be disbelieved.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
One friend said Grace felt disbelieved throughout the court proceedings and "her soul just completely disappeared".
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2023
The women were determined to speak up together, rather than be silenced and disbelieved, said another plaintiff, Cherryl Jackson-Williams.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2023
Anaxagoras believed in a special mind substance and disbelieved in the existence of atoms.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
He laughs in disbelieving joy at his opponent's shot-making.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
The other disbelieving intellectuals continued to write and publish but seemed to make less news by their pronouncements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
As he danced across home plate into the arms of bouncing, disbelieving Dodgers Friday night, the magnitude of his accomplishment was evident in the condition of his uniform.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2024
They look disbelieving but I walk with them to Plankinton and show them an address on a seemingly abandoned building and explain the numbering system again.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2024
She’d catch his eye and they’d laugh, surprised, disbelieving, that this was happening.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
