belief

[bih-leef]

noun

1. something believed; an opinion or conviction.

   a belief that the earth is flat.

   Synonyms: persuasion, conclusion, tenet, view

2. confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof.

   a statement unworthy of belief.

   Synonyms: assurance

3. confidence; faith; trust.

   a child's belief in his parents.

4. a religious tenet or tenets; religious creed or faith.

   the Christian belief.

   Synonyms: dogma, doctrine

belief

/ bɪˈliːf /

noun

1. a principle, proposition, idea, etc, accepted as true

2. opinion; conviction

3. religious faith

4. trust or confidence, as in a person or a person's abilities, probity, etc

Other Word Forms

• prebelief noun
• superbelief noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of belief¹

First recorded in 1125–75; earlier bile(e)ve (noun use of verb); replacing Middle English bileave, equivalent to bi- be- + leave (probably from Old English -lēafa “belief”); cognate with Dutch geloof, German Glaube; akin to Gothic galaubeins

Synonym Study

Belief, certainty, conviction refer to acceptance of, or confidence in, an alleged fact or body of facts as true or right without positive knowledge or proof. Belief is such acceptance in general: belief in astrology. Certainty indicates unquestioning belief and positiveness in one's own mind that something is true: I know this for a certainty. Conviction is settled, profound, or earnest belief that something is right: a conviction that a decision is just.

Example Sentences

Riley didn’t invent Minimalism; a belief in revolutionary new beginnings was in the cultural air at the San Francisco premiere.

From Los Angeles Times

First, by the Kremlin's belief that, in Ukraine, Russian forces have the initiative on the battlefield.

From BBC

They will be very close this time around off their back of their Champions League success but they need to turn that belief into ruthlessness.

From BBC

“I do have a lot of belief,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

After their chaotic 4-3 defeat in Brussels in June, Bellamy said "there's a lot of life in this group" and it is a belief he still holds.

From BBC

Related Words

• acceptance 
• assumption 
• conclusion 
• confidence 
• conviction 
• expectation 
• faith 
• feeling 
• hope 
• idea 
• judgment 
• knowledge 
• notion 
• opinion 
• position 
• suspicion 
• theory 
• thinking 
• trust 
• understanding