What does "believe" mean?

1. (to accept as true) to think that something is true, even if you are not 100% sure. 2. (to trust someone) to trust that what someone says is the truth. 3. (to have an opinion) to think or have an opinion about something. 4. (to believe in) to feel sure that someone or something exists, or that they are good.

believe — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "I am believing you."?

No — say "I believe you.". Believe is a stative verb and is rarely used in the continuous (-ing) form.

Word

01to accept as true

A1 · Beginner

v. to think that something is true, even if you are not 100% sure.

v. to accept a statement, fact, or idea as true or real without absolute proof.

“I believe that we have met somewhere before, but I forget where.”

“Scientists believe that the new data will eventually confirm their theories about the planet's atmosphere.”

Synonyms

accept trust

Antonyms

doubtdisbelieve

02to trust someone

A1 · Beginner

v. to trust that what someone says is the truth.

v. to accept the word or testimony of a person as being truthful.

“You should believe him because he never tells lies.”

“The jury found it difficult to believe the witness after several contradictions appeared in her testimony.”

Synonyms

trust credit

Antonyms

distrust

03to have an opinion

B1 · Intermediate

v. to think or have an opinion about something.

v. to hold a particular opinion or to suppose something to be the case.

“I believe it is going to rain later, so take an umbrella.”

“The manager believes it is in the company's best interest to delay the product launch until spring.”

Synonyms

think suppose reckon

04to believe in

A2 · Elementary

v. to feel sure that someone or something exists, or that they are good.

v. to be convinced of the existence, truth, or value of something.

“Do you believe in ghosts, or do you think they are just stories?”

“Many people believe in the power of education to change a person's life for the better.”

Teaching tip

Distinguish between 'believe someone' (trust their words) and 'believe in someone' (have confidence in their character or ability).

Synonyms

trust inhave faith in

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “believe” in context.

01. generally believe 02. strongly believe

Often followed by a 'that' clause or the preposition 'in' when expressing trust or existence.

I am believing you.

I believe you.

Believe is a stative verb and is rarely used in the continuous (-ing) form.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *laubō Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *laubijaną Proto-West Germanic *laubijan Proto-West Germanic *bilaubijan Old English belīefan Middle English bileven English believe From Middle English beleven, bileven, from Old English belīefan (“to believe”), from Proto-West Germanic *bilaubijan (“to believe”), equivalent to be- + leave (“to give leave or permission to, permit, allow, grant”). Cognate with Scots beleve (“to believe”), Middle Low German belö̂ven (“to believe”), Middle High German belouben (“to believe”). A related term in Old English was ġelīefan (“to be dear to; believe, trust”), from Proto-West Germanic galaubijan (“to have faith, believe”), from Proto-Germanic galaubijaną. Compare also Old English ġelēafa (“belief, faith, confidence, trust”), Old English lēof ("dear, valued, beloved, pleasant, agreeable" > English lief). Related also to North Frisian leauwjen (“to believe”), West Frisian leauwe (“to believe”), Dutch geloven (“to believe”), German glauben (“to believe”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galaubjan, “to hold dear, valuable, or satisfactory, approve of, believe”). The prepositionally transitive senses with in are a semantic loan from Latin crēdō in aliquem / aliquid.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

believe(A1)

NOUN

belief(B1)

believer(B1)

ADJECTIVE

believable(B1)

disbelief unbelievable