Definition of Belief

1. Noun. Any cognitive content held as true.


2. Noun. A vague idea in which some confidence is placed. "I had a feeling that she was lying"
Exact synonyms: Feeling, Impression, Notion, Opinion
Generic synonyms: Idea, Thought
Specialized synonyms: Presence, Effect, First Blush, Hunch, Intuition, Suspicion
Derivative terms: Believe, Feel, Impressionistic

Definition of Belief

1. n. 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.

Definition of Belief

1. Noun. Mental acceptance of a claim as truth regardless of supporting or contrary empirical evidence. ¹

2. Noun. Something believed. ¹

3. Noun. The quality or state of believing. ¹

4. Noun. Religious faith. ¹

5. Noun. (in the plural) One's religious or moral convictions. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Belief

1. acceptance of the truth or actuality of something [n -S]

Medical Definition of Belief

1. 1. 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. "Belief admits of all degrees, from the slightest suspicion to the fullest assurance." (Reid) 2. A persuasion of the truths of religion; faith. "No man can attain [to] belief by the bare contemplation of heaven and earth." (Hooker) 3. The thing believed; the object of belief. "Superstitious prophecies are not only the belief of fools, but the talk sometimes of wise men." (Bacon) 4. A tenet, or the body of tenets, held by the advocates of any class of views; doctrine; creed. "In the heat of persecution to which Christian belief was subject upon its first promulgation." (Hooker) Ultimate belief, a first principle incapable of proof; an intuitive truth; an intuition. Synonym: Credence, trust, reliance, assurance, opinion. Origin: OE. Bileafe, bileve; cf. AS. Geleafa. See Believe. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Belief

beletter
belfried
belfries
belfry
belga
belgard
belgards
belgas
belibel
belibelled
belibelling
belibels
belick
belie
belied
belief (current term)
belief system
belief systems
beliefful
belieffulness
beliefless
beliefs
belier
beliers
belies
beliest
belieth
believabilities
believability
believable

Literary usage of Belief

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville (1899)
"CHAPTER II Of the Principal Source of belief Among Democratic Nations AT different periods dogmatical belief is more or less abundant. ..."

2. The American Journal of Psychology by Granville Stanley Hall, Edward Bradford Titchener (1910)
"belief or Assent is the vivacity of the perceptions presented by memory and the ... An Opinion or belief is a lively idea related to or associated with a ..."

3. Publications by Folklore Society (Great Britain) (1899)
"Yet (without discussing the validity of the belief in question) Mr. Hartland will not deny that Israel did possess that belief. ..."

4. The Principles of Psychology by William James (1918)
"In the case of acquiescence or belief, the object is not only apprehended bj the mind, ... belief is thus the mental state or function of cognizing reality. ..."

5. The Art of Scientific Discovery: Or, The General Conditions and Methods of by George Gore (1878)
"For further information respecting different classes of propositions, I must refer the reader to ordinary works on logic. CHAPTER VIII. SCIENTIFIC belief. ..."

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