VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

faith

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/feɪθ/
US/feɪθ/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    A strong belief that someone or something is reliable or will turn out well, even without full proof.

    Grammar: Usually without a: I have faith in her.

    Patterns

    • faith in someone
    • have faith that something will happen

    I have complete faith in our team.

    He lost faith in the banking system after the crisis.

    Their faith that the rescue would come never wavered.

  2. nouncountable or uncountablereligion

    A religion, or a deep belief in God and spiritual teachings.

    Grammar: Countable for a particular religion: people of many faiths.

    Patterns

    • of the Muslim faith
    • keep the faith

    She draws strength from her faith.

    Leaders of every faith joined the ceremony.

    The charity serves people of all faiths.

  3. noununcountableformal

    Loyalty to a promise or to a person, shown in honest behavior.

    Grammar: Appears in fixed phrases such as good faith and bad faith.

    Patterns

    • in good faith
    • break faith with someone

    She signed the agreement in good faith.

    He acted in bad faith when he hid the defects.

    The company kept faith with its customers.

Word forms

pluralfaiths

Common combinations

lose faith
Many voters lost faith in the government.
have faith in
You should have faith in your own ability.
in good faith
He offered the money in good faith.
a leap of faith
Starting the business was a real leap of faith.
restore faith
The honest reply helped restore my faith in people.
blind faith
She followed the map with blind faith and got lost.

Synonyms and how they differ

trust
Trust is about relying on a person, whereas faith can go beyond evidence and include religion.
confidence
Confidence rests on proof or experience, but faith can survive without it.
belief
Belief is broader and may be about any idea, while faith adds a sense of personal commitment.
religion
Religion names an organized system with rituals, whereas faith is the inner belief or a single tradition.

Opposites

doubtdistrustdisbelief

Word family

faithful adjective
loyal and reliable
faithfully adverb
in a loyal or exact way
faithless adjective
disloyal or without religious belief
unfaithful adjective
disloyal, especially to a partner

Commonly confused: faith or fate?

faith vs fate

Fate is a power thought to decide events, while faith is trust or belief; the two sound alike in speech.

Practice

Which phrase means doing something honestly, with no plan to cheat?

Make it your own

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

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words