Definitions for belief
bɪˈlifbe·lief

Princeton's WordNet(2.00 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. beliefnoun

   any cognitive content held as true

2. impression, feeling, belief, notion, opinionnoun

   a vague idea in which some confidence is placed

   "his impression of her was favorable"; "what are your feelings about the crisis?"; "it strengthened my belief in his sincerity"; "I had a feeling that she was lying"

Wiktionary(1.67 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. beliefnoun

   Mental acceptance of a claim as truth regardless of supporting or contrary empirical evidence.

2. beliefnoun

   Something believed.

   The ancient people have a belief in many deities.

3. beliefnoun

   The quality or state of believing.

   My belief that it will rain tomorrow is strong.

4. beliefnoun

   Religious faith.

   She often said it was her belief that carried her through the hard times.

5. beliefnoun

   One's religious or moral convictions.

   I can't do that. It's against my beliefs.

6. Etymology: from leafa.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Beliefnoun

   Etymology: from believe.

   1. Credit given to something which we know not of ourselves, on account of the authority by which it is delivered.

   Those comforts that shall never cease,
   Future in hope, but present in belief. Henry Wotton.

   Faith is a firm belief of the whole word of God, of his gospel, commands, threats, and promises. William Wake, Prep. for Death.

   2. The theological virtue of faith, or firm confidence of the truths of religion.

   No man can attain belief by the bare contemplation of heaven and earth; for that they neither are sufficient to give us as much as the least spark of light concerning the very principal mysteries of our faith. Richard Hooker, b. v. § 22.

   3. Religion; the body of tenets held by the professors of faith.

   In the heat of general persecution, whereunto christian belief was subject upon the first promulgation, it much confirmed the weaker minds, when relation was made how God had been glorified through the sufferings of martyrs. Richard Hooker, b. v.

   4. Persuasion; opinion.

   He can, I know, but doubt to think he will;
   Yet hope would fain subscribe, and tempts belief. John Milton.

   All treaties are grounded upon the belief, that states will be found in their honour and observance of treaties. William Temple.

   5. The thing believed; the object of belief.

   Superstitious prophecies are not only the belief of fools, but the talk sometimes of wise men. Francis Bacon.

   6. Creed; a form containing the articles of faith.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Beliefnoun

   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 testimony; partial or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief of a witness; the belief of our senses

2. Beliefnoun

   a persuasion of the truths of religion; faith

3. Beliefnoun

   the thing believed; the object of belief

4. Beliefnoun

   a tenet, or the body of tenets, held by the advocates of any class of views; doctrine; creed

Freebase(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Belief

   Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. Dispositional and occurrent belief concerns the contextual activation of the belief into thoughts or ideas.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Belief

   a word of various application, but properly definable as that which lies at the heart of a man or a nation's convictions, or is the heart and soul of all their thoughts and actions, "the thing a man does practically lay to heart, and know for certain concerning his vital relations to this mysterious universe, and his duty and destiny there."

Editors Contribution(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. belief

   A feeling, knowing or understanding we believe.

   It is their belief that they choose and have an eternal marriage and it is true.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on January 19, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Cognitive Content

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'belief' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1979

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'belief' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4498

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'belief' in Nouns Frequency: #623

Anagrams for belief »

1. befile

How to pronounce belief?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say belief in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of belief in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of belief in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of belief in a Sentence

1. Sipho P Nkosi:

   I have a strong belief that tomorrow we shall escape the poverty if soon the agriculture subject is made compulsory in our schools.

2. Kamala Harris:

   When I began work on the root causes of migration from northern Central America, I approached the task with a few basic principles: one, my belief — I think our shared belief — that people don’t want to leave home, and when they do, it is usually for one of two reasons: They are fleeing harm, or they cannot address the basic needs of themselves or their family.

3. Andrew Gillum:

   We've got to demand a more perfect union, we have to demand a process that is more fair, we have to reject the belief that a signature difference is enough for somebody's entire vote to be dismissed. We've got to get rid of these arbitrary deadlines.

4. Robert Frost:

   Why abandon a belief merely because it ceases to be true? Cling to it long enough, and it will turn true again, for so it goes. Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor.

5. Karen Tumlin:

   A decision like this does shake one's belief, certainly I and folks at National Immigration Law Center will turn to continuing a longer fight for justice. ... As long as the President Donald Trump administration is trying to rewrite and radically alter the nation's immigration system, folks like my organization and others will be taking them to court to challenge that.

Popularity rank by frequency of use