belie 
Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost Itelle him : 
He? never diil encounter with Qlendower. 
.s/,,i/,., 1 Hen. IV., 1. 3. 
Who is he that Mifs the blood and libels tin- fame of 
his own ancestors? 
1). \\-,-bfl, .,-, Speech, Si Mate, May 7, 1834. 
The clamor of liars bHieil in the hubbub ol' lies. 
T'-iiiiiisnii, Maud, iv. ii. 
2. To give tin- Hi- to; show to be false; con- 
tradict. 
Their trembling hearts lu'lir their boastful tongues. 
pryden. 
Novels (witness rv'ry month's review) 
Ili'lif their name, and oiler nothing new. 
I 'M/cy,,v, lldil enu nl. 
513 
In the cathedral*, the popular MiV/, hopes, fears, fan- 
cies, and aspirations found expression and were pupil 
unteil in n language intelligible to all. 
r. K. .\ ./,/. Travel and Stud) in Italy, p. 105. 
5. The whole body of tenets lirld l>y the pro- 
fessors of any faith. 
belive 
2. To give credence to (a person making a 
statement. ;mytliin said. etc.). 
T,o, I eomc unto thee in a thick cloud, that the peopl,- 
may hear n hen I Mieak w ilh tin-' : hcc torever. 
l:\. \i\. I'. 
Yon ate nn\\ 1,1,1 ti!< I t<> >! "< him. >V,(/A. , r. of K., v. 1. 
In the heat of persecution, to which the Christian Mi,-f , ; t , ,!,,,,,.,. . , nlst . 
was subject, lit It* fint promulgation. Hooker. " 
[Archaic.] 
1 had fainted unless I had ///,<, v,/ to Me the goodness 
of (lie Lord in tile land of the living. 1's. xxvii. 13. 
'\'\H- Miff nt Christiunit) i- a //!>/ in the beauty of holi- 
ness; the creed of Mid las as a ///.-/' in the beauty of the 
world and of mankind. Kmni, I'rim. llcllef, iv. 
6. A creed; a formula embodying the essential 4. To bo of opinion; think; understand: as 
doctrines of a ivli^ion or a church. 
/////( IT lie has left tlio city. 
Ycnilnht to He them have their '//</, to know theeom 
3. To act unworthily of; fail to equal or come %*S5* nMdl.'ncsT" ""tiSSfiZAgi 
, il- '1 I'^oC HWU nine Ml inn-utoo. 
np to; disappoint: as, to belt? ones hopes or =B 1 . ln ,, 2 , ,.,., ,.,,, ,. t ,, ,,.,,. 
credence, trust. ere lit. conlldenee. 4. Doctrine. 
They are. I WiViv, ;is high as most steeples in Kllgland. 
.I,/,/,,,.,,, Travels in Italy. 
believer (br-li-'ver), . [Earlymod. E. bclor,,. 
lii'li'i'n- (not' in .\IK. in- AS.); < hilnri' + -<?rl.] 
1. One who believes; one wlio {,'ivrs credit to 
. e o e , 
beliefful (bo-lef'ful), a. [< ^ME. Uleffu , < b>l, : i. ,,. ,.,;,,,., ,,,., ,| m of personal know- 
; belief, + -Jill, i 1. AS. MMffW.J Hav- ]( , (1} , ( ,. , me who is nnil | v persnaile.l in his own 
elief or faith, f'ttdll. [Hare. I ...:...i ,.*; vu^, 4,.,,fi. ,.v;...t,,,,^o rf e/YintliiTicr 
; belief or faith, t'llnll. [Rare.] 
belieffulness (be-lef'ful-nes), H. [< beliefful 
-<..] The state of being beliefful. [Rare. 
The godly lu'lie/iilnem of the heathen. 
expectations 
Shall Hector, born to war. bis birthright yield, 
llelif his courage, and forsake the Held ' 
Drytlen, Hector and Androm., 1. W.I. 
Tuscan Valerius by force- o'ereainc, 
And not lielii'il his mighty fathers name. 
/v//'/.-/,, Kncid. 
4. To give a false representation of ; conceal 
the true character of. 
Queen. For heaven's sake, speak comfortable words. 
fork Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts. 
filink.. Rich. II., ii. i 
5f. To fill with lies. 
"I'is slander, . . . whoso breath 
Hides on the posting winds, and doth lu-lii- 
All corner, of the world. Shak., Cymbeline I 4. believab ility (be-le-va-bil'i-ti), . [< belter- , 
6t. To counterfeit ; mimic ; feign resemblance a j( c; seo -bility.] Credibility; capability of am i to the catechumens, who were preparing 
I, On Luke iv. 
There is a hopefulness and a Mir/nine**, so to say, on 
your side, which is a great compensation. l'l,,n:il<. 
belier (be-H'&r), n. [< belief r., + --''.I <>MI- 
who belies. 
Foul-mouthed Mirrx ol the Christian faith. 
3. In the early church, a baptized layman, in 
mind of the truth or existence of something: 
as, a hi'licrrf in ghosts. 
Johnson, incredulous ill other point*, wa a rcad\ 
believer In miracles and apparitions. 
Macaiilaii, Von Kanke. 
2. An adherent of a religious faith ; in a more 
ri'strirti'd sense, a Christian ; one who exercises 
faith in Christ. 
And bflieivrn were the more added to the laird. 
Acts v. 14. 
contradistinction to the clerj 
being believed. J. S. Mill. 
believable (be-le'va-bl), a. [< belieee + -<ible.~\ 
for baptism, on the other. 
The name belit-i'er is here taken in a more strict sens** 
only for one order of Christians, the believing or bap- 
tized laity. /HIIU/HIIII, Antiquities, I. Hi. 1. 
to. 
With dust, with horses' hoofs, that beat the ground, 
And martial brass, 1,,'iif the thunder's sound. Capable of be'ing believed; credible 
Dn/ilen, Astncn Redux. 
That he sinn d, is not believable. 
belief (be-lef), . [Early mod. E. beleef, be- /,,-./-,. Merlin and Vivien, believing (be-le'ving), i>. a. 1. Having faith; 
I;:'..- 1.1 <.o^ rvri;_ ready or disposed to believe or to exercise 
faith. 
Be not faithless, but believing. John xx. 27. 
Now, Rod be prais'd ! that to believing souls 
(lives light in darkness, comfort in despair. 
.SAa*., 2 Hen. VI., 11.1. 
2. Of the number of those who are disciples. 
And they that have kelieviny masters, let them not df- 
gilouben, MHG. gelouben, glouben, G. gleuben, spise them, because they are brethren. 1 Tim. vi. 2. 
now (flauben, = Goth, galaubjan, believe, lit. believingly (be-le'ving-li), Mir. In a believ- 
belief in his parents. 
To make the worthy Leonatus mad, 
By wounding his belief in her renown. 
Shak., Cymbeline, v. 5. 
2. A conviction of the truth of a given proposi- 
tion or an alleged fact, resting upon grounds et t a generalizing prefixj + *laub, a form 
insufficient to.?ttJ5Jl v ?Mmye_tao*^ge. ( pret 7) O f t h e common Teut. root *,&, whence 
hold dear or valuable or satisfactory, be pleased ing manner; with belief: as, to receive 
with, < Goth, galaubs, dear, valuable (found only trine believingly. 
in the special sense of 'costly'), < ga- (AS., belight (be-lit*), . '. [< &*- 1 + ''J/'*' 1 
belight v -. - - 
up; illuminate. Cowleij. [Rare.] 
" e-lik'), ode. [First in early mod. 
To 
= AS. ^ ; E . 
merely, and does not necessarily involve a corresponding lufu. E. loee, etc. : see (it/, leare*, lore, liberal, appar. of dial, origin, < be, by, prep 
- 
like, 
, 
state of tilings. But belief is sometimes used to include e t c _] J_ intrans. 1. To have faith or conn- likely, i. e., by what is likely; but perhaps a 
the absolute conviction or certainty which ac ompanies denoe- (a) Ag to , personi to have connd ence in his reduction of an introductory phrase it may be 
knowledge. 
Neither do I labor for a greater esteem than may in 
honesty, integrity, virtue, powers, ability, etc. ; trust. (6) 
As to a thing, to have faith iu its existence, or in its genii- 
some little measure draw a belief from you, to do yourself ineness, efficacy, virtue, usefulness, soundness, and the 
/ or te n[ 
'aimi 
as simi 
good, and not to grace me. Shak., As you Like it, v. 2. 
Belief admits of all degrees, from the slightest suspicion 
to the fullest assurance. Reid. 
He [James Mill] uses the word belief as the most gen- 
eral term for every species of conviction or assurance ; the 
assurance of what is before our eyes, as well as of that 
which we only remember or expect ; of what we know by 
direct perception, as well as of what we accept on the faith: generally with on. 
Ill' lit >-.. CIIIIJUCJ, VII IUC, ItadUllICQO, DUllllUII-vdO, II1t HIV. f . . _ 
like ; credit its reality : as, to believe in ghosts ; to believe chiefly poetical. J 
in the Bible, In manhood suffrage, in the ballot, In repub- 
licanism, in education, etc. : usually with in or on (for- 
merly also with to), rarely absolutely. 
He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, 
only believe. Mark v. 3fi. 
2. To exercise trust or confidence; rely through 
or Hfol,! Cf. maybe and likely, 
1 Pprhnris' nrobuhlv FNow 
.J J ertiaps, pio iDiy. ino 
evidence of testimony or of reasoning. 
J. S. Mill. 
Then you, belike, suspect these noblemen 
As guilty of Dnke Humphrey's timeless death. 
Skat., 2 Hen. VI., HI. 2. 
Belike this is some new kind of subscription the gallants 
use. B. Jonxon, Every Man out of his Humour, HI. 2. 
If he came in for a reckoning, belike it was for better 
treat than mine. Scott. 
By a singular freak of language we use the word belief thou sha i t De gav'gd, and thy house. 
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and belikelyt (be-lik 'Ii), adv. [See belike.'} Prob- 
to designate both the least persistent and the most per- 
sistent coherence among our states of consciousness, to 
describe our state of mind with reference both to those 
propositions of the truth of which we are least certain, 
and to those of the truth of which we are most certain. 
ably. 
Acts xvl. 31. 
And many belieeed on him there. John x. 42. 
To them gave he power to become the sous of God, even 
to them that believe on his name. John i. Ii fcelime (be-lim' ),.(. 
Having belikely heard some Iwtter words of me than I 
could deserve. Up. flail, Account of Himself. 
V - T .. - [< ftf- 1 + limel.] To 
J Finke Cosmic Philos I 61 * ^ ^ P ersua( l e<i ? th . e truth of anything ; besmear or entangle with or as with bird-lime. 
3. Persuasion of the truth of a proposition, 
but with the consciousness that the positive 
evidence for it is insufficient or wanting; espe- 
cially, assurance of the truth of what rests 
chiefly or solely upon authority, (n) In this sense, 
the word sometimes implies that the proposition is ad- 
mitted as only probable, (b) It sometimes implies that 
the proposition is admitted as being so reasonable that it 
needs 110 proof, (c) Sometimes used for religious faith. 
Knowledge and belief differ not only in degree but in 
kind. Knowledge is a certainty founded upon insight ; 
If you will consider the 
with him it always has 
belief is a certainty founded upon feeling. The one is 
perspicuous and objective : the other is obscure and sub- authority, testimony, argument, or any other 
nature of man, you will find that belittle (be-lit'l), f. t. ; pret. and pp. belittled, 
been and still is true, that that ppr. belittling. [First in U. S. ; < be- 1 + little.] 
thing in all his inward or outward world which he sees j f o make small or smaller ; reduce in pro- 
worthy of worship is essentially the^tWng w^whichhe^- p o rtion or extent. [Rare.] 2. To cause to 
' appear small; depreciate; lower in character or 
To make believe. Btootitow*. -fi_ i;_i-ii__ ji : i e 
II. trans. 1. To credit upon the ground of 
jective. 
Sir H'. Hamilton, Lectures on Logic, xxvii. 
One in whom persuasion and belief 
Had ripened into faith, and faith become 
A passionate intuition. Wordsmrth, Excursion, iv. 
They (women] persuade rather than convince, and value 
i>rlii' f rather as a source of consolation than as a faithful 
expression of the reality of things. 
Leaky, Europ. Morals, II. 381. 
4. That which is believed; an object of belief. 
Superstitious prophecies are the belief of fools. Bacon. 
We have but to read the accounts of the early beliefs of 
mankind, or the present beliefs of savages and semi-cul- 
tivated nations, to see how large a field pure fiction occu- 
pies. (,'. //. /,.-,.*, Vrobs. of Life and Mind, II. iii. 8 7. 
38 
; accept 
as true ; give credence to. See belief. 
We know what rests upon reason ; we believe what rests 
upon authority. Sir VT. Hamilton. 
Our senses are sceptics, and believe only the impression 
, 
importance ; speak lightly or disparagingly of. 
^^ement (be-lit'1-ment), . [< %elittle + 
\ i , hp lj ttl j' a o , detracting 
or thing. 
A systematic belittlemr.nt of the essential, and exaggera- 
tion of the non-essential, in the story. 
Pop. Sci. Ma,, XX. 370. 
of the moment. 
Emerson, Farming, belive't, r, i. [ME. (rare), < AS. belt/an (pret. 
Hence the causal beleace, q. v., now also obso- 
sinee he sees nothing clear. 
M. AriiM, Empcdocles. lete : see teare 1 .] To remain. 
