Synonyms for be lief

Grammar : Noun

Spell : bih-leef

Phonetic Transcription : bɪˈlif

Top 10 synonyms for be lief

Other synonyms for the word be lief

Définition of be lief

Origin : late 12c., bileave, replacing Old English geleafa "belief, faith," from West Germanic *ga-laubon "to hold dear, esteem, trust" (cf. Old Saxon gilobo, Middle Dutch gelove, Old High German giloubo, German Glaube), from *galaub- "dear, esteemed," from intensive prefix *ga- + *leubh- "to care, desire, like, love" (see love (v.)). The prefix was altered on analogy of the verb believe. The distinction of the final consonant from that of believe developed 15c.
"The be-, which is not a natural prefix of nouns, was prefixed on the analogy of the vb. (where it is naturally an intensive) .... [OED]
Belief used to mean "trust in God," while faith meant "loyalty to a person based on promise or duty" (a sense preserved in keep one's faith, in good (or bad) faith and in common usage of faithful, faithless, which contain no notion of divinity). But faith, as cognate of Latin fides, took on the religious sense beginning in 14c. translations, and belief had by 16c. become limited to "mental acceptance of something as true," from the religious use in the sense of "things held to be true as a matter of religious doctrine" (a sense attested from early 13c.).

As in impression : noun feeling, idea
As in judgment : noun decision about blame
As in lore : noun myths, traditional wisdom
As in maxim : noun saying
As in mind-set : noun mental attitude
As in morals : noun personal principles, standards
As in mythology : noun folklore
As in assumption : noun taking something for granted; something expected
As in attitude : noun mental outlook
As in philosophy : noun principles, knowledge
As in piety : noun devotion, religiousness
As in reliance : noun confidence
As in school : noun body of philosophy on subject
As in side : noun point of view
As in speculation : noun theory, guess
As in stand : noun position, opinion
As in standard : noun guideline, principle
As in sure thing : noun certain thing
As in theorem : noun explanation based on hypothesis and experiments
As in thought : noun idea, concept
As in tradition : noun established practice
As in belief : noun putting regard in as true
As in belief : noun something regarded as true
As in values : noun principles
As in ethics : noun morality
As in orthodoxy : noun dogma
As in theology : noun religious theory or belief
As in certainty : noun positive assurance
As in certitude : noun sureness
As in dependence : noun reliance
As in ethos : noun philosophy
As in expectance : noun anticipation
As in mythos : noun lore
As in postulation : noun assumption
As in presupposition : noun assumption
As in rightfulness : noun ethics
As in rightness : noun ethics
As in significancy : noun idea
As in contention : noun argument for idea
As in credence : noun trust, acceptance
As in credit : noun recognition; trust
As in dependence/dependency : noun confidence, reliance
As in doctrine : noun opinion; principle
As in estimate : noun approximate calculation; educated guess
As in ethics/ethic : noun moral philosophy, values
As in expectancy : noun anticipation
As in eye : noun judgment, opinion
As in faith : noun trust in something
As in feeling : noun idea, impression
As in gospel : noun fact, doctrine
As in hope : noun longing; dream
As in hypothesis : noun theory
As in idea : noun something understood, planned, or

Antonyms for be lief

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019