belief

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɪˈliːf/, SAMPA: /bI"li:f/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːf

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English lēafa.

Noun

belief (plural beliefs)

1. Mental acceptance of a claim as truth regardless of supporting or contrary empirical evidence.
2. (countable) Something believed.

   The ancient people have a belief in many deities.

3. (uncountable) The quality or state of believing.

   My belief that it will rain tomorrow is strong.

4. (uncountable) Religious faith.

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

5. (in the plural) One's religious or moral convictions.

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

Derived terms

• beliefful
• beyond belief
• disbelief
• self-belief
• unbelief

Related terms

• believe

Translations

mental acceptance of a claim as truth

Armenian: հավատ (hy) (havat), վստահություն (hy) (vstahut'yun) Bosnian: vjerovanje (bs) n. Bulgarian: вяра (bg), доверие (bg) Catalan: creença (ca) f. Czech: víra (cs) f. Dutch: geloof (nl) n. Estonian: usk (et) Finnish: usko (fi) French: croyance (fr) f. German: Glauben (de) m. Greek: πίστη (el) (písti) f., πιστεύω (el) (pistévo) n. Hungarian: hit (hu) Indonesian: kepercayaan (id)

Italian: credito (it) m., credenza (it) f. Japanese: 確信 (かくしん, kakushin) Kurdish: باوه‌ر, بروا Polish: przekonanie (pl) n., wiara (pl) f. Portuguese: crença (pt) f. Romanian: credință (ro) Scottish Gaelic: beachd (gd) m., barail (gd) f. Serbian: Cyrillic: веровање n. Latin: verovanje n. Spanish: creencias (es) Swedish: tro (sv) c.

something believed

Bosnian: vjera (bs) f. Catalan: creença (ca) f. Czech: víra (cs) f. Dutch: geloof (nl) f. Esperanto: kredo (eo) Estonian: usk (et), uskumus (et) Finnish: usko (fi) German: Glaube (de) m. Greek: δοξασία (el) (doxasía) f., δόγμα (el) (dògma) n., πίστη (el) (písti) f.

Interlingua: credentia (ia) Italian: credenza (it), opinione (it) Polish: wiara (pl) f., przekonanie (pl) n. Portuguese: crença (pt) f. Serbian: Cyrillic: вера f. Latin: vera f. Swedish: tro (sv) c. Telugu: నమ్మకము (te) (nammakamu), విశ్వాసము (te) (viswaasamu)

the quality or state of believing

Bosnian: vjerovanje (bs) n. Bulgarian: вяра (bg) Catalan: creença (ca) f. Czech: víra (cs) f. Dutch: geloof (nl) f. Estonian: usk (et), lootus (et) Finnish: usko (fi), luottamus (fi) French: conviction (fr) f. German: Glaube (de) m. Greek: δοξασία (doxasía) f., δόγμα (dògma) n.

Italian: convinzione (it) f. Polish: wiara (pl) f. Portuguese: crença (pt) f. Scottish Gaelic: beachd (gd) m., barail (gd) f. Serbian: Cyrillic: веровање n. Latin: verovanje n. Swedish: tro (sv) c. Telugu: నమ్మకము (te) (nammakamu), విశ్వాసము (te) (viswaasamu)

religious faith

Arabic: عقيدة (ar) Bosnian: vjera (bs) f. Bulgarian: вяра (bg) Catalan: creença (ca) f. Czech: víra (cs) f. Dutch: geloof (nl) f. Estonian: usk (et) Finnish: usko (fi) French: foi (fr) f., croyance (fr) f. German: Glauben (de) m. Greek: πίστη (el) (písti) f. Indonesian: keyakinan Italian: fede (it), credo (it), credenza (it)

Japanese: 信仰 (しんこう, shinkō) Khmer: ជំនឿ (km) (chom neur) Kurdish: بڕوا, باوه‌ر Polish: wiara (pl) f., wierzenie (pl) n. Portuguese: crença (pt) f. Romanian: credință (ro) Scottish Gaelic: creideamh (gd) m. Serbian: Cyrillic: вера f. Latin: vera f. Swedish: tro (sv) c. Telugu: మతవిశ్వాశం (te) (matavisvasam) Zulu: ukholo (zu)

religious or moral convictions

Arabic: إیمان Bosnian: vjera (bs) f. Bulgarian: вяра (bg), убеждение (bg) Czech: přesvědčení (cs) n., víra (cs) f. Dutch: geloof (nl) f. Estonian: veendumus (et) Finnish: vakaumus German: Glauben (de) m. Greek: πιστεύω (el) (pistévo) n. Italian: convinzioni pl. f.

Kurdish: بڕواباوه‌ر Polish: wiara (pl) f., wierzenie (pl) n. Portuguese: crença (pt) f. Romanian: credință (ro) Scottish Gaelic: creideamh (gd) m. Serbian: Cyrillic: вера f. Latin: vera f. Swedish: tro (sv) c.

a wishing of case or circumstance to be true

Estonian: usk (et) Finnish: usko (fi) Italian: fiducia (it) f.

Polish: wiara (pl) f. Serbian: уверење (sr) (uverénje)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Breton: kredenn f. -où Cebuano: pagtuo French: croyance f. Guaraní: jerovia Indonesian: keyakinan, kepercayaan Interlingua: credentia

Maltese: twemmien Romanian: credință f. Spanish: creencia Swahili: imani Tamil: நம்பிக்கை(nampikkai),நம்பகம் (nampakam) Tupinambá: îerobîara Turkish: inanç

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Dutch

Verb

belief

1. imperative of believen.