belief
- belief
- [[t]bɪli͟ːf[/t]]
♦♦♦
beliefs
1)
N-UNCOUNT: usu N in
n Belief is a feeling of certainty that something exists, is true, or is good.
One billion people throughout the world are Muslims, united by belief in one god.
...a belief in personal liberty.
2)
N-PLURAL: usu
supp N Your religious or political
beliefs are your views on religious or political matters.
He refuses to compete on Sundays because of his religious beliefs.
3)
N-SING: usu N
that If it is your
belief that something is the case, it is your strong opinion that it is the case.
It is our belief that improvements in health care will lead to a stronger, more prosperous economy.
4)
PHRASE: adj PHR, PHR after
v (
emphasis) You use
beyond belief to emphasize that something is true to a very great degree or that it happened to a very great degree.
We are devastated, shocked beyond belief...
Her son's skin improved beyond belief.
5)
PHRASE: PHR with
cl You use the expression
contrary to popular belief to introduce a statement that is the opposite to what is thought to be true by most ordinary people.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that what you look like makes much difference to your life.
6)
PHRASE: PHR after
v, PHR
cl If you do something
in the belief that something is true or will happen, you do it because you think, usually wrongly, that it is true or will happen.
Civilians had broken into the building, apparently in the belief that it contained food.
English dictionary.
2008.
:
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
