- belief
- nounADJECTIVE▪ absolute, deep-seated, deeply held, fervent, firm, passionate, profound, strong, strongly held, unshakable, unwavering▪ genuine, sincere▪
She was strict with her children in the genuine belief that it was the right thing to do.
▪ common, commonly held, general, popular, widely held, widespread▪ mutual, shared▪They had a shared belief in the power of education.
▪ growing▪ long-held, long-standing▪ basic, central, core, fundamental▪the basic beliefs of Christianity
▪ personal, private▪I think the rights and wrongs of eating meat are a matter of personal belief.
▪ rational, reasonable▪ irrational, superstitious▪ paranormal, supernatural▪ instinctive▪ naive▪ strange▪ conflicting, contradictory▪ erroneous, false, misguided, mistaken▪I took the job in the mistaken belief that I would be able to stay in Philadelphia.
▪ ancient, folk, traditional▪The people still follow their traditional beliefs.
▪ orthodox▪ cultural, moral, philosophical, political, religious, spiritual, theological▪They were persecuted for their religious beliefs.
▪ Catholic, Christian, pagan, etc.… OF BELIEFS▪ set, system▪Each religion has its set of beliefs.
VERB + BELIEF▪ espouse, have, hold▪I have very firm beliefs about moral issues.
▪ share▪He shared his father's belief that people should work hard for their living.
▪ adhere to, cherish, cling to, follow, hold on to, stick to▪She clung to the belief that he would come back to her.
▪The party must stick to its beliefs.
▪ abandon, give up, renounce▪ lose▪She has lost her belief in God.
▪ affirm, assert, declare, express, state▪Here the apostle Peter affirms his belief that the scriptures are ‘inspired’.
▪ emphasize, stress▪ encourage, foster, fuel▪The exam results encouraged the belief that he was a good teacher.
▪ confirm, justify, reaffirm, reinforce, strengthen, support, validate▪This latest evidence strengthens our belief that the government is doing the right thing.
▪ reconcile▪an attempt to reconcile apparently opposite beliefs
▪ contradict▪ challenge, question, shake, shatter, undermine, weaken▪The child's death shook her belief in God.
▪ respect▪You must respect other people's beliefs.
▪ impose▪He tried to impose his beliefs on other people.
▪ beggar (esp. BrE), defy▪It defies belief how things got this bad.
BELIEF + VERB▪ persist▪Belief in the magical properties of this herb persisted down the centuries.
BELIEF + NOUN▪ systemPREPOSITION▪ beyond belief (= too great, difficult, etc. to be believed)▪Dissatisfaction with the government has grown beyond belief.
▪icy air that was cold beyond belief
▪ in the belief that▪She did it in the belief that it would help her career.
▪ belief about▪beliefs about the origin of the universe
▪ belief among▪There is a belief among young people that education is a waste of time.
▪ belief in▪a belief in God
PHRASES▪ contrary to popular belief (= in spite of what people think)▪Contrary to popular belief, deserts are not always hot.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
