Meaning & use
believe
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To accept that something is true or that someone is telling the truth.
Grammar: Takes an object or a that-clause: believe the story, believe that it happened.
Patterns
- believe something
- believe someone
- believe (that)...
I believe her; she has never lied to us.
Investigators believe the fire started in the kitchen.
Most people believe that regular sleep improves memory.
verbtransitive
To think or expect that something is true or will happen, without being completely certain.
Grammar: States an opinion or expectation, often with that omitted: I believe it will rain.
Patterns
- believe (that)...
- believe so
- believe not
I believe the train leaves at six, but let me check.
Many believe the new policy will help small businesses.
Is the museum open on Mondays? I believe so.
verbintransitive
To trust in the value, ability, or existence of someone or something.
Grammar: Always followed by in: believe in your team, never believe your team (that means accept their words).
Patterns
- believe in someone
- believe in something
- believe in doing something
My coach believes in me, and that keeps me going.
She believes in working hard rather than relying on luck.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Word forms
| third person singular | believes |
|---|---|
| past tense | believed |
| past participle | believed |
| -ing form | believing |
Common combinations
- believe that...
- Economists believe that prices will fall next year.
- believe in someone/something
- We believe in giving every student a fair chance.
- hard to believe
- It's hard to believe the twins are already ten.
- firmly believe
- I firmly believe we made the right decision.
- believe it or not
- Believe it or not, he cooked the entire meal himself.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trust
- Use trust for relying on a person's honesty or ability; you trust a person, while you can believe a story.
- think
- Think presents an opinion more directly as a personal view; believe suggests some supporting reason or evidence.
- accept
- Accept emphasizes agreeing something is true after hearing or seeing it; believe can rest on weaker evidence.
- suppose
- Suppose suggests a guess with less certainty and is common in informal speech.
Opposites
Word family
- belief noun
- The feeling that something is true; also a firmly held opinion or faith.
- believer noun
- A person who believes; often means a follower of a religion.
- believable adjective
- Seeming true or real; a believable excuse.
- unbelievably adverb
- In a way that is hard to believe; also means extremely.
- disbelieve verb
- To refuse to believe something.
Commonly confused: believe or belief?
believe vs belief
Belief is the noun and belief the verb: spell the verb with -ie- (believe) and the noun with -ief (belief).
Practice
Don't worry about the meeting tomorrow — I ______ you, and I know you'll be honest with them.
Choose one answer.
Believe someone means accepting that the person is telling the truth, which fits the promise of honesty. 'Believe in you' means trusting your value or ability, which does not fit this context, and 'make believe' means pretend.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “believe”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.