belief
/bɪˈliːf/ noun
Forms beliefs
- noun Mental acceptance of a claim as true. “It's my belief that the thief is somebody known to us.”
- noun Faith or trust in the reality of something; often based upon one's own reasoning, trust in a claim, desire of actuality, and/or evidence considered. “My belief is that there is a bear in the woods. Bill said he saw one.”
- noun (countable) Something believed. “The ancient people have a belief in many deities.”
- noun (uncountable) The quality or state of believing. “My belief that it will rain tomorrow is strong.”
- noun (uncountable) Religious faith. “She often said it was her belief that carried her through the hard times.”
- noun (in the plural) One's religious or moral convictions. “I can't do that. It's against my beliefs.”
Synonyms
assumption premise faith opinion tenet conviction impression feeling notion
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English bileve, from Old English lēafa, from Proto-West Germanic *laubu from Proto-Germanic *laubō. Compare German Glaube (“faith, belief”).
The replacement of final /v/ with /f/ is due to the analogy of noun-verb pairs with /f/ in the noun but /v/ in the verb, creating a pair belief : believe on the model of e.g. grief : grieve or proof : prove.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Assent to a proposition or affirmation, or the acceptance of a fact, opinion, or assertion as real or true, without immediate personal knowledge; reliance upon word or testimony; partial or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief of a witness; the belief of our senses.
- noun A persuasion of the truths of religion; faith.
Etymology [OE. bileafe, bileve; cf. AS. geleáfa. See Believe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “belief”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details