Grammar 101: Belief vs. Believe

What’s the main difference between 'belief' and 'believe'? 

So, 'believe' (with a v) is a verb. It means to have confidence in the truth.
Then, 'belief' (with an f) is a noun. It means a religious faith or the feeling of being certain that something is true. 

Because “belief” and “believe” are almost homophones (words that sound alike), they are often confused. Here are some tips on how to tell them apart. 

Belief 

Is a noun: A word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality. 

Believe 

Is a verb: A word or phrase that describes an action, condition, or experience.

Belief 

• The feeling of being certain that something exists or is true. 

• A religious faith. 

Believe 

Verb (used without object) 

• To have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so. 

Verb (used with object) 

• To have confidence or faith in the truth (a positive assertion, story). 

• To have confidence in the claims of (a person). 

• To have an opinion that (a person or thing) is, has been, or will be engaged in a given action.

Belief 

The synonyms for this word include: Acceptance, confidence, conviction, faith, hope, opinion, theory, understanding, feeling. 

Believe 

The synonyms for this word include: Think, accept, admit, consider, hold, trust, conclude, suppose, understand.

Belief 

• All religious and political beliefs should be respected equally. 

• It is my firm belief that by next year, Angelina will produce an award-winning movie. 

• It is a popular belief that all her furniture are antiques. 

• I admire her so much because she has the courage to stand up for her beliefs. 

• There is a growing belief that I will not get my promotion this year. 

Believe 

• We believe she moved overseas to be closer to her family. 

• Please believe me as I have no reason to lie to you. 

• Grace believes that she can win the writing competition. 

• Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t believe that Mr. Smith is capable of killing his wife. 

• I believe that she will do the right thing to protect her children. 

We’ve got more fun articles packed with advice. 

Misspelled words often find their way into our world. So, that’s making it increasingly tough to know what is right and wrong. Let’s admit it, speaking can be deceiving, especially if it’s in a language that is not your mother tongue. That got us thinking and we decided to start our own “pronunciation” series and list the 50 most commonly mispronounced words. The list provides a good start to help you articulate and enunciate words correctly and may be a useful tool for your IELTS Speaking test.

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