believing in

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   Having faith or trust in someone or something; feeling sure that a person or thing is good, real, or able to help.

   Grammar: The -ing form of 'believe in'; it takes an object after 'in': 'believing in yourself'.

   Patterns

   • believing in someone
   • believing in something
   • believing in yourself

   She has a hard time believing in herself after so many failures.

   Believing in your team is important for success.

   He keeps believing in the power of positive thinking.

2. 2verbintransitive

   Accepting that something exists or is true, especially a religious or supernatural idea.

   Grammar: Used with 'in' plus a noun; the -ing form can be the subject of a sentence.

   Patterns

   • believing in God
   • believing in ghosts
   • believing in something

   Believing in ghosts is common in many cultures.

   She stopped believing in Santa Claus when she was eight.

   Many people find comfort in believing in an afterlife.

Common combinations

believing in yourself

Believing in yourself is the first step to success.

believing in something

He is not interested in believing in any religion.

believing in the power of

She keeps believing in the power of love.

firmly believing in

Firmly believing in his cause, he never gave up.

Synonyms and how they differ

trusting

Trusting focuses on relying on someone's honesty, while believing in often means having faith in someone's abilities or existence.

having faith in

Having faith in is stronger and often religious; believing in is more general.

Opposites

Word family

believe verb

To accept something as true or to have confidence in someone.

belief noun

A feeling that something is true or exists.

believer noun

A person who believes in something or someone.

Commonly confused: believing in or believe?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “believing in”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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