believe
verb (used without object)
to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.
half-believed
-
a word derived from
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.
He picked up Christopher Lee at the airport once, and — as a big fan of Dracula — he half-believed he saw the English actor transforming into a vampire while they drove to the club.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Which brings us back to the mythology of the film — this idea of The Creature as an unseen guardian, a half-believed blessing.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2025
One of those myths, a notion that I once half-believed myself, is that women of bygone days knew how to end pregnancy safely and effectively.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2022
She sometimes sounded as if she half-believed the stories she was creating were not fictional, and that the characters were her friends.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 20, 2019
He smiled a tight smile, a smile that gave Reynie the feeling Mr. Curtain half-believed what he said, but also that something else, something much larger and darker, lay beneath.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
