belief
- belief
- /bi'li:f/ noun
1 (singular, uncountable) the feeling that something is definitely true or definitely exists: religious belief
(+ in): a belief in God
(+ that): a growing belief that war had become inevitable | it is sb's belief that: It is my belief that racism remains widespread in British society. | in the belief that (=because you think something is true): She started taking money, in the mistaken belief that she would not be discovered. | contrary to popular belief (=although most people believe the opposite of this): Contrary to popular belief, eating carrots does not improve your eyesight.
2 (C) an idea that you believe to be true, especially one that forms part of a system of ideas: political beliefs | hold a belief (=have a belief): Some of them hold very right-wing beliefs.
3 (singular) the feeling that something is good and can be trusted
(+ in): If you're selling, you have to have genuine belief in the product. | shake sb's belief in (=make them doubt what they believe): The judge's decision shook my belief in the legal system.
4 be beyond belief to seem too strange or unreasonable to be true: These latest proposals are beyond belief!
-see also: to the best of your belief best 3 (4), -compare disbelief, unbelief
Longman dictionary of contemporary English.
2004.
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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
