belief

belief 1 Belief, faith, credence, credit are comparable when they mean the act of one who assents intellectually to something proposed or offered for acceptance as true or the state of mind of one who so assents.

Belief is less restricted in its application than the other terms, for it may or may not imply certitude or certainty in the one who assents; it may even suggest nothing more than his mere mental acceptance

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his conclusions are beyond belief

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the theory merits belief

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nothing could shake his belief in the Bible as the word of God

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hope is the belief more or less strong, that joy will come— Sydney Smith

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belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; unbelief, in denying them— Emerson

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Faith implies full assent of the mind and therefore certitude, but it adds to this a strong implication of complete trust or confidence in the source (as the divinity, the institution, or the person) that proposes something or offers itself for belief and confidence. Consequently, although belief may represent the mind's act or state when something is assented to, regardless of whether it is or is not fully supported by evidence, faith characteristically represents the mind's act or state only when something is assented to on grounds other than merely those of the evidence of one's senses or of conclusions entirely supported by reason

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faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen— Heb 11:1

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to believe only possibilities is not faith, but mere philosophy— Browne

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such tales, whether false or true, were heard by our ancestors with eagerness and faith— Macaulay

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Faith often carries a strong suggestion of credulity or overreadiness to accept authority

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he takes everything on faith

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Credence stresses mere intellectual assent without implying weak or strong grounds for belief and without suggesting credulity or its absence. Consequently it is seldom used in reference to religious or philosophical doctrines and is commonly employed in reference to reports, rumors, and opinions

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there is no superstition too absurd to find credence in modern England— Inge

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we are not now concerned with the finality or extent of truth in this judgment. The point is that it gained a widespread credence among the cultured class in Europe— Day Lewis

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Credit (see also INFLUENCE) carries a weaker implication than any of the preceding words of certitude or of acceptance as a result of conviction; often it specifically suggests as its ground a reputation for truth in the person who offers something for acceptance

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anything he will tell you about the circumstances is entitled to credit

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full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State— U. S. Constitution

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Analogous words: certitude, assurance, *certainty, conviction: assenting or assent, acquiescing or acquiescence (see corresponding verbs at ASSENT)

Antonyms: unbelief, disbelief

Contrasted words: incredulity (see UNBELIEF): *uncertainty, doubt, mistrust

2 conviction, persuasion, view, *opinion, sentiment

Analogous words: *doctrine, dogma, tenet: *principle, fundamental: conclusion, judgment (see under INFER)