Antonyms for be lief


Grammar : Noun
Spell : bih-leef
Phonetic Transcription : bɪˈlif


Definition 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

Synonyms for be lief

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