belief

belief
noun Etymology: Middle English beleave, probably alteration of Old English gelēafa, from ge-, associative prefix + lēafa; akin to Old English lȳfan — more at believe Date: 12th century 1. a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing 2. something believed; especially a tenet or body of tenets held by a group 3. conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence Synonyms: belief, faith, credence, credit mean assent to the truth of something offered for acceptance. belief may or may not imply certitude in the believer <
my belief that I had caught all the errors
>
. faith almost always implies certitude even where there is no evidence or proof <
an unshakable faith in God
>
. credence suggests intellectual assent without implying anything about grounds for assent <
a theory now given credence by scientists
>
. credit may imply assent on grounds other than direct proof <
gave full credit to the statement of a reputable witness
>
. Synonym: see in addition opinion.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Synonyms:

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

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