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Glite Dictionary
to believe in

to believe in

∞ 1.7
To trust that a person or thing is good
  • phrasal verb
  • /bɪˈliv ɪn/
translation icon : creer en
  • Many people believe in the importance of education for a better future.
  • believe in God
  • believe in people
  • believe in the truth

Because like way more people believe in God than ghosts.

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Examples

  • They want you because they believe in diversity, right?

  • He has said he does not believe in climate change.

    I've Had It

  • It's easy to believe in you and me.

  • Whether you believe in me or not.

    Gran Turismo (2023)

  • - I believe in this country.

    Parts: The Clonus Horror (1979)

  • But the women still seem to believe in love, holding on to that chance.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • So roughly speaking, I believe in mind brain identity.

    Robinson Erhardt

  • The question to ask today is not whether we believe in closure.

    Academic text (2011)

  • So if you believe in God, this is God-given.

  • You can believe in the possibility, can't you?

    Straw Dogs (1971)

Synonyms

to trust
vsto believe in
∞ 1.0

To believe someone will do what they say

is about confidence in existence, value, or goodness rather than reliance

Antonyms

to doubt
∞ 1.3

To feel not sure about something or think it is not true

to disbelieve
14 4.7

To not accept that something is true

How Confident

to rely on
602 1.0
to believe in
∞ 1.7
to doubt
∞ 1.3

Surface Forms

believe in infinitive
believed in past
believed in past participle
believing in present participle
believes in third person singular

Morphology

believe + in

The sense 'to have confidence in the existence, value, or goodness of someone or something' is directly built from 'believe' (to accept or trust) plus the preposition 'in' marking the target of that trust. This verb + preposition composition is cross‑linguistically common (e.g. Spanish creer en, French croire en) and follows a predictable pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Believe in may come from a simple picture: you put your trust in a person or idea, as if you place it inside their heart. So, believe in came to mean 'to have confidence in' someone or something, or to think they are good or true.