believe

Study(19)

UK /bɪˈliːv/ US /bɪˈliv/

verb 5

Collocations

(verb.)

ADV

firmly, really, seriously

sincerely

I sincerely believe that you will do well in your exam if you study hard.

mistakenly

VERB + BELIEVE

can't/cannot, could not

She couldn't believe how much her old house was worth after the renovations.

be hard to

It was hard to believe how quickly the children grew up.

give sb to

His letter gave us to believe that he would arrive next week.

have reason to

Police have reason to believe the missing child is somewhere in the local area.

be inclined to

She was inclined to believe the weather forecast after it had been accurate all week.

lead sb to

The teacher's comments led me to believe that I was making good progress in math.

PHRASES

can/could hardly/scarcely believe sth, not believe a word of sth

She couldn't believe a word of his excuse about missing the meeting.

Definitions

verb

To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing).

If you believe the numbers, you'll agree we need change.

I believe there are faeries.

To accept that someone is telling the truth.

Why did I ever believe you?

BEloued, beleeue not euery ſpirit, but trie the ſpirits, whether they are of God: becauſe many falſe prophets are gone out into the woꝛld.

To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.

After that night in the church, I believed.

[N]ow ſuch a liue vngodly, vvithout a care of doing the wil of the Lord (though they profeſſe him in their mouths, yea though they beleeue and acknowledge all the Articles of the Creed, yea haue knowledge of the Scripturs) yet if they liue vngodly, they deny God, and therefore ſhal be denied, […]

To opine, think, reckon.

Do you think this is good? —Hmm, I believe it's okay.

“Some people believe him charismatic,” Van Assen told me. “I am less sensitive to it.”

[with in]

Do you believe in God / the Easter Bunny / ghosts?

Since I don't believe in reincarnation, I believe that the only way to eliminate suffering is to die.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

verb — judge or regard

verb — be confident about something

trust

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

make believe

To pretend or imagine.

Let's make believe that we are explorers.

believe you me

An emphatic form of believe me: you (the subject) had better believe me (the speaker).

Well, sir, believe you me, I'll give that lassy as good a strapping as ever she got when she comes back.

believe it or not

This may be surprising, but it's true.

We're, believe it or not, in love with each other.

do you believe in God

Used to ask whether the interlocutor believes in God.

believe one's eyes

To believe that something which one directly sees is truly the case.

[H]e could scarcely believe his eyes as she appeared on the floor unsurpassed in beauty and grace, her favor sought by all. Was that the simple girl who […] had leaned against his

Example Bank

If you believe the numbers, you'll agree we need change.

Wiktionary

I believe there are faeries.

Wiktionary

FOꝛaſmuch as many haue taken in hande to ſet fooꝛth in oꝛder a declaration of thoſe things which are most ſurely beleeued among vs[…]

Wiktionary

It's no use pretending to make me believe that I believe things you don't believe!

Tatoeba · #1495

What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?

Tatoeba · #1737

Even people who don't believe in the Catholic church venerate the Pope as a symbolic leader.

Tatoeba · #1940

Usage Notes

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