Believe definition

From / + a short form of , (leafa).

To accept that someone is telling the truth.
- Why did I ever believe you?
To accept as true.
- If you believe the numbers, you'll agree we need change.
To consider likely.
- I believe it might rain tomorrow.(This definition is the same as "to accept as true", but for a likely event "might rain tomorrow").
To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.
- After that night in the church, I believed.{This definition should be disregarded as it is the same as the transitive "to accept as true"}.

The transitive verb believe and the phrasal verb believe in 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 place faith in that person or concept: believe in liberty, believe in God. To “believe in one's fellow man” means to place faith in mankind.
Meanings sometimes overlap. To believe in a religious text would also require affirming at least the major principles. To believe a religious text might likewise imply placing one's faith in it, in addition to accepting its statements as facts.

1611 — King James Version of the Bible, Luke 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...