believe
[verb]
Synonyms:
- accept, be certain of, be convinced of, credit, depend on, have faith in, rely on, swear by, trust
- think, assume, gather, imagine, judge, presume, reckon, speculate, suppose

---

Antonyms: disbelieve, misbelieve
Contrasted words: discredit, distrust, doubt, mistrust, question, suspect, challenge, dispute, reject, turn down
Related Idioms: have no doubts about, hold the belief that, take (or accept) as gospel, take at one's word, take one's word for
Related Words: accredit, credit, trust, admit

---

English Thesaurus: believe, accept, take sb’s word for it, give somebody the benefit of the doubt, be taken in, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

be‧lieve S1 W1 /bəˈliːv, bɪˈliːv/ verb
[Word Family: noun: belief, disbelief, believer; adjective: believable ≠ unbelievable, disbelieving; verb: believe ≠ disbelieve; adverb: unbelievably]
[Language: Old English; Origin: belefan, from lyfan, lefan 'to allow, believe']

1. [transitive not in progressive] to be sure that something is true or that someone is telling the truth:
You shouldn’t believe everything you read.
I believed him, even though his story sounded unlikely.
believe (that)
I don’t believe he’s only 25.
I don’t believe a word of it (=I think it is completely untrue).

2. [transitive not in progressive] to think that something is true or possible, although you are not completely sure
believe (that)
Detectives believe that the victim knew his killer.
it is believed (that)
It is believed that the house was built in 1735.
believe so (=think that something is true)
‘Have they arrived yet?’ ‘Yes, I believe so.’
be believed to be something
At 115, Mrs Jackson is believed to be the oldest person in the country.
The four men are widely believed (=believed by a lot of people) to have been killed by their captors.
Did you honestly believe that I’d be stupid enough to do that?
I firmly believe that the business will be a success.

3. it’s difficult/hard to believe (that) used when you are surprised that something is true:
Sometimes, it’s hard to believe we’ve been married for 50 years.


SPOKEN PHRASES

4. can’t/don’t believe something used when you are very surprised or shocked by something:
I can’t believe he’s expecting us to work on Sunday!
I couldn’t believe it when he told me what had happened.
can hardly/scarcely believe something
I could scarcely believe my luck.

5. believe it or not used when you are saying something that is true but surprising:
He enjoys school, believe it or not.

6. would you believe it! (also I don’t believe it!) used when you are surprised or angry about something:
And then he just walked out. Would you believe it!

7. believe (you) me used to emphasize that something is definitely true:
There’ll be trouble when they find out about this, believe you me!

8. you’d better believe it! used to emphasize that something is true

9. don’t you believe it! used to emphasize that something is definitely not true

10. can’t believe your eyes/ears used to say that someone is very surprised by something they see or hear

11. if you believe that, you’ll believe anything used to say that something is definitely not true, and that anyone who believes it must be stupid

12. seeing is believing (also I’ll believe it when I see it) used to say that you will only believe that something happens or exists when you actually see it

13. [intransitive] to have a religious faith:
She says those who believe will go to heaven.
⇒ make believe at make¹(19)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

believe
verb
ADV. firmly, really, seriously (only used with negatives), sincerely He firmly believed that he was right. No one seriously believes that this war will happen.
mistakenly
VERB + BELIEVE can't/cannot, could not I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
be hard to It's hard to believe that this campaign has been going on for ten years.
give sb to The boss gave me to believe that we would all get a pay rise.
have reason to We have reason to believe that the escaped prisoner may be hiding in this house.
be inclined to I'm inclined to believe you.
lead sb to The advertisement led us to believe that all prices had been cut.
PHRASES can/could hardly/scarcely believe sth, not believe a word of sth I didn't believe a word of what he said.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

believe
verb
1.
BAD: You should not believe in everything you hear.
GOOD: You should not believe everything you hear.
BAD: She couldn't believe in what was happening to her.
GOOD: She couldn't believe what was happening to her.

Usage Note:
believe in sth = (1) accept that something exists: 'Do you believe in ghosts?' 'James still believes in Father Christmas.'
(2) think that something is good: 'I don't believe in capital punishment.' 'I believe in getting a good night's sleep before an examination.'
believe sth = accept that something is true or real: 'I believe every word she said.' 'I couldn't believe what I was seeing.'

---

2.
BAD: I could hardly believe in my eyes.
GOOD: I could hardly believe my eyes.

Usage Note:
could not/hardly believe your ears/eyes (WITHOUT in )

---

3.
BAD: I deeply believe that tourists will stop coming here.
GOOD: I firmly believe that tourists will stop coming here.
BAD: My brother deeply believes in freedom of speech.
GOOD: My brother strongly believes in freedom of speech.

Usage Note:
firmly/strongly/fervently/sincerely/truly believe (NOT deeply ): 'I sincerely believe that he had no connection with the crime.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

believe to be sure that something is true or that someone is telling the truth:
I believed her when she said that she loved me.
Don’t believe anything he tells you.
accept to believe that something is true, especially because someone has persuaded you to believe it:
His wife accepted his explanation for why he was late.
Leah had slowly come to accept her brother’s version of events.
take sb’s word for it especially spoken to believe what someone says is true, even though you have no proof or experience of it:
I don’t know anything about him, so I’ll just have to take your word for it.
You don’t have to take my word for it – go and see for yourself.
‘Cakes are very easy to make.’ ‘I’ll take your word for it.’
give somebody the benefit of the doubt to believe what someone says, even though you think it might not be true:
Unless you have proof, you should give him the benefit of the doubt.
be taken in (also fall for something informal) to be tricked into believing something that is not true:
A lot of people were taken in by these claims.
I can’t believe she fell for that old excuse!
swallow informal to believe a story or explanation that is not true, especially when this makes you seem silly:
His aunt had swallowed his story unquestioningly.
Police refused to swallow his story, and put him in a cell.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

think:
I think you’re right.
She didn’t think that the film was very good.
believe to have an opinion that you are sure is right, especially about an important subject such as politics or religion:
The protestors believe that it is wrong to experiment on animals.
Do you really believe that the only solution to violence is more violence?
feel to have a particular opinion, especially one that is based on your feelings, not on facts:
She feels that there is no alternative.
I just felt that it was the right thing to do.
take the view that formal to have a particular opinion:
The court took the view that the company had acted unreasonably.
The college takes the view that smoking in the workplace is a fire risk.
consider to think about something carefully before deciding what to do:
Have you considered working for a year before going to college?
weigh (also weigh up British English) to carefully think about a plan or choice by comparing all the advantages and disadvantages involved:
You need to weigh up the pros and cons (=the advantages and disadvantages), and decide which investment is the best one for you.
The committee are still weighing the alternatives.
give something some/a lot of thought to think carefully about something, before you make a final decision about it:
Why don’t you give it some thought and then get back to me?
He had obviously given the matter a lot of thought.
mull something over to think about a problem, plan etc before making a decision:
Can you give me a bit of time to mull it over?
ponder to spend time thinking carefully and seriously about something, especially a problem or something complicated:
She is still pondering what to do.
Officials are pondering ways to remove the oil from the beaches.
contemplate to think about something you might do in the future:
Did you ever contemplate resigning?
reflect formal to think carefully about something, especially something that happened in the past:
It was a good time to reflect upon the changes that had happened in my life.
brood to keep thinking for a long time about something that worries you or that makes you angry or upset:
There’s no point brooding over things you can’t change.
dwell on something to spend too much time thinking about something sad or unpleasant:
I try to enjoy my life today and not dwell on the past.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

believe
bɪˈli:v
See: make believe , seeing is believing

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲