belief
2 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
beliefs
plural
beliefs
Britannica Dictionary definition of BELIEF
1
a
:
a feeling of being sure that someone or something exists or that something is true
— often + in
— often + that
—
compare disbelief
[singular]
-
a heartfelt/deep/deep-seated/firm/strong/passionate belief
-
He says that he is given strength by his belief in God.
-
He has a strong belief in his ability to win. [=he is certain that he can win]
-
His family has an unshakable belief in his innocence.
-
It's my belief that the current policy is certain to fail. [=I believe that the current policy is certain to fail]
-
She bought the rug in the belief that [=because she believed that] it was a real antique, not a fake.
-
Many people arrived early in the mistaken/erroneous belief that [=because they mistakenly believed that] free tickets would be available.
-
There is a growing belief that [=an increasing number of people believe that] these policies will not succeed.
[noncount]
-
There is growing belief that these policies will not succeed.
-
Contrary to popular belief, the economy has actually improved in recent months. [=the economy has improved although many/most people do not think that it has]
b
[singular]
:
a feeling that something is good, right, or valuable
— + in
-
a belief in democracy
-
a judge who had a firm/strong belief in judicial restraint
c
[singular]
:
a feeling of trust in the worth or ability of someone
— + in
-
He has a strong belief in himself. [=he strongly believes that he will succeed]
2
[count]
:
something that a person accepts as true or right
:
a strongly held opinion about something
—
compare unbelief
-
He gets angry if anyone challenges his religious/political beliefs.
-
We challenged his beliefs about religion.
-
erroneous/mistaken/false beliefs
-
a system of beliefs = a belief system
3
[noncount]
:
the state of being accepted as true
:
the state of being believed
-
a story that is worthy of belief [=a story that deserves to be believed, a believable story]
-
a story that defies belief = (chiefly Brit) a story that beggars belief [=an unbelievable story]
beyond belief
:
not capable of being believed
-
events that are beyond belief [=events that are unbelievable]
-
She is beautiful beyond belief. [=she is unbelievably/extremely beautiful]
to the best of your belief
◊ If you say something is to the best of your belief, you mean that it agrees with what you know and believe to be true.
-
To the best of my belief [=(more commonly) to the best of my knowledge, as far as I know], everyone arrived on time. [=I think that everyone arrived on time, but it is possible that someone arrived late and I don't know about it]
