What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Believe vs Unbelieve - What's the difference?

believe | unbelieve |

As verbs the difference between believe and unbelieve

is that believe is to accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing while unbelieve is to lose, give up, abandon, or relinquish belief in; stop believing.

believe

English

Alternative forms

* beleeve (obsolete)

Verb

(believ)
  • (label) To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing)
    • (Here, the speaker merely accepts the accuracy of the conditional.)
  • * 1611 , (King James Version of the Bible), 1:1 :
    • Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2014-06-21, volume=411, issue=8892, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Magician’s brain , passage=[Isaac Newton] was obsessed with alchemy. He spent hours copying alchemical recipes and trying to replicate them in his laboratory. He believed that the Bible contained numerological codes.}}
  • (label) To accept that someone is telling the truth.
  • (label) To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.

    • Usage notes

    * The transitive verb believe and the phrasal verb (m) are similar but can have very different implications. ** To “believe” someone or something means to accept specific pieces of information as truth: believe the news'', ''believe the lead witness . To “believe a complete stranger” means to accept a stranger's story with little evidence. ** To “believe in” someone or something means to hold confidence and trust in that person or concept: believe in liberty'', ''believe in God . To “believe in one's fellow man” means to place trust and confidence in mankind. * Meanings sometimes overlap. To believe in'' a religious text would also require affirming the truth of at least the major tenets. To ''believe a religious text might likewise imply placing one's confidence and trust in it, in addition to accepting its statements as facts.

    Derived terms

    * believable * believability * believer * believe in * believe it or not * believe one's eyes * believe you me * disbelieve * unbelievable * unbeliever

    Related terms

    * belief * disbelief

    Statistics

    * ----

    unbelieve

    English

    Verb

    (en-verb)
  • (lb) To lose, give up, abandon, or relinquish belief in; stop believing.
  • *2004 , Treva Harte, Lani Aames, Maryjanice Davidson, Nicely Naughty :
    • She began to unbelieve' when she was eight years old.” '''Unbelieve'''. The word brought incredible sadness to them all. Every time a child started to ' unbelieve , a little of the magic of Christmas was lost.