disbelieve

American

[dis-bi-leev] / ˌdɪs bɪˈliv /

verb (used with object)

disbelieved, disbelieving

to have no belief in; refuse or reject belief in.

to disbelieve reports of UFO sightings.

verb (used without object)

disbelieved, disbelieving

to refuse or reject belief; have no belief.

disbelieve British

/ ˌdɪsbɪˈliːv /

verb

(tr) to reject as false or lying; refuse to accept as true or truthful
to have no faith (in)

disbelieve in God

"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

Other Word Forms

disbeliever noun
disbelieving adjective
disbelievingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of disbelieve

First recorded in 1635–45; dis- ¹ + believe

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.

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

"What's alarming is that these recordings could also create an environment where many disbelieve even real recordings," says Mohamed Suliman, a researcher at Northeastern University's Civic AI Lab.

From BBC • Oct. 4, 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

“It’s a tour de force. I see no reason to disbelieve it.”

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023

Mariam came to disbelieve this part of the story as well.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023