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Glite Dictionary
to don't believe a word of

to don't believe a word of

12 4.1
Not believe anything someone says
  • idiom
translation icon : no creer ni una palabra de
  • After what happened last time, I just don't believe a word of what he says.

Examples

Synonyms

to distrust
vsto don't believe a word of
31 4.2

To think that someone or something cannot be relied on

refuses all parts of others' statements rather than only holding suspicion
to disbelieve
vsto don't believe a word of
14 4.7

To not accept that something is true

does not accept any part of a person's statement as true
to mistrust
vsto don't believe a word of
12 3.5

To not trust someone or something

refuses all parts of another's statements rather than only lacking confidence

Antonyms

to believe
∞ 1.0

Accept that something is true or trust a person

How Believable

to believe
∞ 1.0
to doubt
∞ 1.3
to don't believe a word of
12 4.1
to dismiss
332 3.0

Surface Forms

don't believe a word of infinitive

Morphology

don't + believe + a + word + of

The meaning 'to not believe anything someone says' is directly and compositionally derived from the negator 'don't' + 'believe' and the quantifying phrase 'a word of' (i.e. not believing any word/part of their speech). This pattern has clear parallels in many languages (e.g. Spanish 'no creer ni una palabra', French 'ne pas croire un mot'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will very likely understand it.

Etymology

Don't believe a word of comes from the image of refusing to accept even a single word someone says, as if you throw each word away because you think it is false. So it means 'to not believe anything that someone says'.