Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Believe

Be·lieve′ (bē·lēv′), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Believed; p. pr. & vb. n. Believing.] [OE. bileven (with pref. be- for AS. ge-), fr. AS. gelēfan, gelȳfan; akin to D. gelooven, OHG. gilouban, G. glauben, OS. gilōbian, 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.

Our conqueror (whom I now Of force believe almighty). Milton.

King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? Acts xxvi. 27.

Often followed by a dependent clause. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Acts viii. 37.

Syn. — See Expect.

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.

Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark ix. 24.

With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Rom. x. 10.

2. To think; to suppose.

I will not believe so meanly of you. Fielding.

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.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.