From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
believe
v 1: accept as true; take to be true; "I believed his report";
"We didn't believe his stories from the War"; "She
believes in spirits" [ant: disbelieve]
2: judge or regard; look upon; judge; "I think he is very
smart"; "I believe her to be very smart"; "I think that he
is her boyfriend"; "The racist conceives such people to be
inferior" [syn: think, consider, conceive]
3: be confident about something; "I believe that he will come
back from the war" [syn: trust]
4: follow a credo; have a faith; be a believer; "When you hear
his sermons, you will be able to believe, too"
5: credit with veracity; "You cannot believe this man"; "Should
we believe a publication like the National Inquirer?"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Believe \Be*lieve"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Believed; p. pr. &
vb. n. Believing.] [OE. bileven (with pref. be- for AS.
ge-), fr. AS. gel?fan, gel?fan; akin to D. gelooven, OHG.
gilouban, G. glauben, OS. gil?bian, Goth. galaubjan, and
Goth. liubs dear. See Lief, a., Leave, n.]
To exercise belief in; to credit upon the authority or
testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of, upon
evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of
the mind, or by circumstances other than personal knowledge;
to regard or accept as true; to place confidence in; to
think; to consider; as, to believe a person, a statement, or
a doctrine.
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Our conqueror (whom I now
Of force believe almighty). --Milton.
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King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? --Acts
xxvi. 27.
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Often followed by a dependent clause.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. --Acts
viii. 37.
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Syn: See Expect.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Believe \Be*lieve"\, v. i.
1. To have a firm persuasion, esp. of the truths of religion;
to have a persuasion approaching to certainty; to exercise
belief or faith.
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Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. --Mark ix.
24.
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With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
--Rom. x. 10.
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2. To think; to suppose.
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I will not believe so meanly of you. --Fielding.
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To believe in.
(a) To believe that the subject of the thought (if a
person or thing) exists, or (if an event) that it has
occurred, or will occur; -- as, to believe in the
resurrection of the dead. "She does not believe in
Jupiter." --J. H. Newman.
(b) To believe that the character, abilities, and purposes
of a person are worthy of entire confidence; --
especially that his promises are wholly trustworthy.
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
believe also in me." --John xiv. 1.
(c) To believe that the qualities or effects of an action
or state are beneficial: as, to believe in sea
bathing, or in abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
To believe on, to accept implicitly as an object of
religious trust or obedience; to have faith in.
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