belief

belief
be|lief
W2S3 [bıˈli:f] n
[Date: 1100-1200; Origin: Probably from Old English geleafa 'belief', from leafa 'belief, faith'; influenced by believe]
1.) [singular, U]
the feeling that something is definitely true or definitely exists
belief in
▪ a strong belief in God
belief that
▪ his passionate belief that technology is a tool to be used with imagination
▪ It is my belief that we will find a cure for cancer in the next ten years.
▪ Thieves broke into the building in the mistaken belief that there was expensive computer equipment inside.
▪ It is a widely held belief that violent crime is increasing.
▪ a strongly held belief that stealing is wrong
▪ a growing belief that war was inevitable
▪ Contrary to popular belief , eating carrots does not improve your eyesight.
2.) [singular]
the feeling that something is good and can be trusted
belief in
▪ If you're selling, you have to have genuine belief in the product.
▪ When you get something wrong, it can shake your belief in yourself.
3.)
an idea that you believe to be true, especially one that forms part of a system of ideas
▪ religious beliefs
▪ Several members hold very right-wing beliefs .
4.) beyond belief
used to emphasize that something is so extreme that it is difficult to believe
▪ What she did was stupid beyond belief.
→it beggars belief at ↑beggar2 (1), to the best of your belief at ↑best3 (4), ↑disbelief, ↑unbelief
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COLLOCATES for sense 1
a strong/firm belief
a sincere/passionate belief
it is somebody's belief that
a mistaken/false belief
a widespread/common/widely held belief (=something that many people think)
a deeply held/strongly held belief (=something you believe very much)
a growing belief
popular belief (=what most people think)
contrary to popular belief (=despite what most people think)
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Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Synonyms:
(the active phase of the fact), , , , , , , / (the passive phase), , , , , / (the thing or things believed), , , , , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Belief — is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. [Citation last = Schwitzgebel first = Eric editor last = Zalta editor first = Edward contribution = Belief title = The Stanford Encyclopedia of… …   Wikipedia

  • Belief — • That state of the mind by which it assents to propositions, not by reason of their intrinsic evidence, but because of authority Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Belief     Belief …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • belief — be·lief n: a degree of conviction of the truth of something esp. based on a consideration or examination of the evidence compare knowledge, suspicion Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • belief — 1 Belief, faith, credence, credit are comparable when they mean the act of one who assents intellectually to something proposed or offered for acceptance as true or the state of mind of one who so assents. Belief is less restricted in its… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Belief — Be*lief , n. [OE. bileafe, bileve; cf. AS. gele[ a]fa. See {Believe}.] 1. 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • belief — (n.) late 12c., bileave, replacing O.E. geleafa belief, faith, from W.Gmc. *ga laubon to hold dear, esteem, trust (Cf. O.S. gilobo, M.Du. gelove, O.H.G. giloubo, Ger. Glaube), from *galaub dear, esteemed, from intensive prefix *ga + *leubh …   Etymology dictionary

  • belief — ► NOUN 1) a feeling that something exists or is true, especially one without proof. 2) a firmly held opinion. 3) (belief in) trust or confidence in. 4) religious faith. ● beyond belief Cf. ↑beyond belief …   English terms dictionary

  • belief — [bə lēf′, bēlēf′] n. [ME bileve < bi , BE + leve, contr. < ileve < OE geleafa: see BELIEVE] 1. the state of believing; conviction or acceptance that certain things are true or real 2. faith, esp. religious faith 3. trust or confidence [I …   English World dictionary

  • belief — [n1] putting regard in as true acceptance, admission, assent, assumption, assurance, avowal, axiom, certainty, conclusion, confidence, conjecture, conviction, credence, credit, deduction, divination, expectation, faith, fancy, feeling, guess,… …   New thesaurus

  • BELIEF — The Bible In the Bible there are no articles of faith or dogmas in the Christian or Islamic sense of the terms. Although trust in God is regarded as a paramount religious virtue (Gen. 15:6; Isa. 7:9; cf. Job 2:9), there is nowhere in Scripture an …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • belief — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ absolute, deep seated, deeply held, fervent, firm, passionate, profound, strong, strongly held, unshakable, unwavering …   Collocations dictionary

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