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believing is seeing

believing is seeing

9.2
Your beliefs make you see things as true even without proof
  • idiom
translation icon : ver para creer
  • For some people, believing is seeing, and their faith makes them notice signs everywhere.

Examples

  • In discussions about optimism, the phrase believing is seeing often comes up to highlight the power of positive thinking.

  • He approached the project with an open mind, proving that believing is seeing.

  • I believe believing is seeing!

  • Don't forget, believing is seeing.

  • When she finally achieved her goal, she realized that believing is seeing; her positive mindset had motivated her all along.

  • In many cultures, believing is seeing reflects the idea that faith can shape reality in profound ways.

  • During the debate, he emphasized that believing is seeing, suggesting that our perceptions are often colored by our expectations.

Surface Forms

Morphology

believing + be + see

The phrase asserts a causal/metaphorical relation — that holding a belief makes one perceive something as real — which can be inferred from the constituents 'believing' and 'see'. However, it is a rhetorical inversion of the familiar proverb 'seeing is believing' and relies on metaphorical extension rather than straightforward compositional meaning, so a B1 learner may need some pragmatic/contextual support to arrive at the intended sense.

Etymology

Believing is seeing is a flip of the old saying 'seeing is believing' and gives a simple image: when you strongly believe something, you begin to see signs of it everywhere, like expecting to find your lost keys and suddenly noticing them. So, the phrase means our beliefs can shape what we notice and think is true.