believing

believe

be·lieve [believe believes believed believing]   [bɪˈliːv]    [bɪˈliːv]  verb

(not used in the progressive tenses) 

FEEL CERTAIN
1. transitive to feel certain that sth is true or that sb is telling you the truth
• ~ sb I don't believe you!
• The man claimed to be a social worker and the old woman believed him.
• Believe me, she's not right for you.
• ~ sth I believed his lies for years.
• I find that hard to believe.
• Don't believe a word of it (= don't believe any part of what sb is saying).
• ~ (that)… People used to believe (that) the earth was flat.
• He refused to believe (that) his son was involved in drugs.

• I do believe you're right (= I think sth is true, even though it is surprising).  

THINK POSSIBLE

2. intransitive, transitive to think that sth is true or possible, although you are not completely certain
• ‘Where does she come from?’ ‘Spain, I believe.’
• ‘Does he still work there?’ ‘I believe so/not.’
• ~ (that)… Police believe (that) the man may be armed.
• it is believed (that)… It is believed that the couple have left the country.
• ~ sb/sth to be, have, etc. sth The vases are believed to be worth over $20 000 each.

• ~ sb/sth + adj. Three sailors are missing, believed drowned.  

HAVE OPINION

3. transitive ~ (that)… to have the opinion that sth is right or true
• The party believes (that) education is the most important issue facing the government.

• She believes that killing animals for food or fur is completely immoral.  

BE SURPRISED/ANNOYED

4. transitive don't/can't ~ used to say that you are surprised or annoyed at sth
• ~ (that)… She couldn't believe (that) it was all happening again.
• I don't believe I'm doing this!

• ~ how, what, etc… I can't believe how much better I feel.  

RELIGION

5. intransitive to have a religious faith
• The god appears only to those who believe.
more at give sb to believe/understand at  give  _v.
Idioms: I don't believe it! ▪ believe it or not ▪ believe me ▪ don't you believe it! ▪ if you believe that, you'll believe anything ▪ make believe ▪ not believe your ears ▪ seeing is believing ▪ would you believe? ▪ you better believe it!
Derived: believe in somebody ▪ believe in something ▪ believe something of somebody
Verb forms:

 
Word Origin:
late Old English belȳfan, belēfan, alteration of gelēfan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch geloven and German glauben.  
Thesaurus:
believe verb
1. T, I
• I don't believe you!
• Do you believe in God?
trust • • have confidence in sb/sth • • have faith in sb/sth •
Opp: doubt, (formal) Opp: disbelieve
believe/trust/have confidence/have faith in sb/sth
2. T
• She believes that eating meat is wrong.
think • • feel • • consider • • be under the impression that… • |especially BrE, informal reckon • |formal hold •
believe/think/feel/consider/be under the impression/reckon/hold that…
Believe or think? When you are talking about an idea of what is true or possible, use believe to talk about other people and think to talk about yourself
• Police believe (that) the man may be armed.
• I think this is their house, but I'm not sure.
Use believe to talk about matters of principle; use think to talk about practical matters or matters of personal taste
• I believe we have a responsibility towards the less fortunate in society.
• I think we should reserve seats in advance.
• I don't think he's funny at all.
 
Language Bank:
according to
Reporting someone's opinion
▪ Photography is, according to ▪ Vidal, the art form of untalented people.
For ▪ Vidal, photography is the art form of untalented people.
▪ His view is that ▪ photography is not art but merely the mechanical reproduction of images.
▪ Smith takes the view that ▪ photography is both an art and a science.
In ▪ Brown's view ▪, photography should be treated as a legitimate art in its own right.
▪ James is of the opinion that ▪ a good painter can always be a good photographer if he or she so decides.
▪ Emerson believed that ▪ a photograph should only reflect what the human eye can see.
Language Banks at argue, opinion  
Language Bank:
opinion
Giving your personal opinion
In my opinion ▪, everyone should have some understanding of science.
▪ Everyone should, in my opinion ▪, have some understanding of science.
It seems to me that ▪ many people in this country have a poor understanding of science.
▪ This is, in my view ▪, the result of a failure of the scientific community to get its message across.
▪ Another reason why so many people have such a poor understanding of science is, I believe ▪, the lack of adequate funding for science in schools.
▪ Smith argues that science is separate from culture. My own view is that ▪ science belongs with literature, art, philosophy and religion as an integral part of our culture.
In this writer's opinion ▪, the more the public know about science, the less they will fear and distrust it.
Synonyms at think
Language Banks at according to, argue, impersonal, nevertheless, perhaps  
Synonyms:
think
believe • feel • reckon • be under the impression
These words all mean to have an idea that sth is true or possible or to have a particular opinion about sb/sth.
think • to have an idea that sth is true or possible, although you are not completely certain; to have a particular opinion about sb/sth: ▪ Do you think (that) they'll come? ◊ ▪ Well, I like it. What do you think?
believe • to have an idea that sth is true or possible, although you are not completely certain; to have a particular opinion about sb/sth: ▪ Police believe (that) the man may be armed.
think or believe?
When you are expressing an idea that you have or that sb has of what is true or possible, believe is more formal than think. It is used especially for talking about ideas that other people have; think is used more often for talking about your own ideas: ▪ Police believe… ◊ ▪ I think… When you are expressing an opinion, believe is stronger than think and is used especially for matters of principle; think is used more for practical matters or matters of personal taste.
feel • to have a particular opinion about sth that has happened or about what you/sb ought to do: ▪ We all felt (that) we were unlucky to lose.
reckon • (informal) to think that sth is true or possible: ▪ I reckon (that) I'm going to get that job.
be under the impression that… • to have an idea that sth is true: ▪ I was under the impression that the work had already been completed.
to think/believe/feel/reckon/be under the impression that…
It is thought/believed/reckoned that…
to be thought/believed/felt/reckoned to be sth
to think/believe/feel sth about sb/sth
to sincerely/honestly/seriously/mistakenly think/believe/feel 
Synonyms:
trust
depend on sb/sth • rely on sb/sth • count on sb/sth • believe in sb
These words all mean to believe that sb/sth will do what you hope or expect of them or that what they tell you is correct or true.
trust • to believe that sb is good, honest, sincere, etc. and that they will do what you expect of them or do the right thing; to believe that sth is true or correct: ▪ You can trust me not to tell anyone. ◊ ▪ Don't trust what you read in the newspapers!
depend on/upon sb/sth • (often used with can/cannot/could/could not) to trust sb/sth to do what you expect or want, to do the right thing, or to be true or correct: ▪ He was the sort of person you could depend on. ◊ ▪ Can you depend on her version of what happened?
rely on/upon sb/sth • (used especially with can/cannot/could/could not and should/should not) to trust sb/sth to do what you expect or want, or to be honest, correct or good enough: ▪ Can I rely on you to keep this secret? ◊ ▪ You can't rely on any figures you get from them.
trust, depend or rely on/upon sb/sth?
You can trust a person but not a thing or system. You can trust sb's judgement or advice, but not their support. You can depend on sb's support, but not their judgement or advice. Rely on/upon sb/sth is used especially with you can/could or you should to give advice or a promise: I don't really rely on his judgement. ◊ ▪ You can't really rely on his judgement.
count on sb/sth • (often used with can/cannot/could/could not) to be sure that sb will do what you need them to do, or that sth will happen as you want it to happen: ▪ I'm counting on you to help me. ◊ ▪ We can't count on the good weather lasting.
believe in sb • to feel that you can trust sb and/or that they will be successful: ▪ They need a leader they can believe in.
to trust/depend on/rely on/count on sb/sth to do sth
to trust/believe in sb/sth
to trust/rely on sb's advice/judgement
to depend on/rely on/count on sb's support
to completely trust/depend on/rely on/believe in sb/sth 
Example Bank:
• I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
• I didn't believe a word of what he said.
• I personally believe that it's important.
• I'm inclined to believe you.
• I've long believed that a good reputation is the most valuable asset you can have in business.
• It's hard to believe that this campaign has been going on for ten years.
• No one seriously believes that this war will happen.
• Paul thinks he's happy, but his mother believes otherwise.
• The ad led us to believe that all prices had been cut.
• The boss gave me to believe that we would all get a pay rise.
• We have reason to believe that the escaped prisoner may be hiding in this house.
• ‘Does he still work there?’ ‘I believe so/not.’
• ‘Where does she come from?’ ‘Spain, I believe.’
• Believe me, she's not right for you.
• Don't believe a word of it.
• He refuses to believe his son was involved with drugs.
• I believe that we have a responsibility towards the less fortunate in society.
• I don't believe you!
• I find that very hard to believe.
• It was generally believed that evil spirits lived in the forest.
• No one seriously believed that the war would happen.
• People used to believe that the earth was flat.
• Police believe…
• She believes that killing animals for food or fur is completely immoral.
• The paintings are believed to be worth over $20 000 each.

• We believe (that) education is the most important issue facing the government.