believe

The word “believe” means to accept something as true without being completely certain. In plain terms, to accept something as true or trustworthy, or to have faith in someone or something.

“Believe” is pronounced bih-LEEV (/bɪˈliːv/ in IPA).

Here is “believe” used in a sentence: “I believe the meeting was moved to Thursday.”

The opposite of “believe” — its antonyms — are disbelieve, doubt, mistrust, distrust and suspect.

“Believe” is a verb.

The word “believe” comes from Old English. From Old English belifan, built from be- plus a root related to "leave" in the old sense of "give permission" — over time this shifted to mean "hold something to be true.".

“Believe” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Believe” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to accept something as true without being completely certain.

'Believe' is the verb — the act of accepting something as true, as in 'I believe you'. 'Belief' is the noun — the idea or conviction itself, as in 'a strong belief'. The two are constantly confused because they sound alike, but one is an action and the other is a thing.

Believing means accepting something as true without being completely certain, often on trust or partial evidence. Knowing implies certainty backed by solid proof or direct experience. You might believe a friend will arrive on time, but you only know it once they walk through the door.

Yes. Believing does not require full certainty or hard evidence — that is what separates it from knowing. People believe things based on trust, faith, intuition, or the word of others. This is why we can believe a promise or a prediction long before there is any proof it is true.

You might say, 'I believe it will rain later,' or 'They believe the plan will work.' In both cases the speaker accepts something as true or likely without being completely sure. 'Believe' can also express trust in a person, as in 'I believe you.'