different between possess vs believe

English

Etymology

From Middle English possessen, from Old French possesser (“to possess”), from Latin possessus, past participle of posside?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??z?s/
• Rhymes: -?s

Verb

possess (third-person singular simple present possesses, present participle possessing, simple past and past participle possessed)

1. (transitive) To have; to have ownership of.
2. (transitive) To take control of someone's body or mind, especially in a supernatural manner.
3. (transitive, dated) Chiefly followed by of: to vest ownership in (someone or oneself); to give (someone) knowledge or power; to acquaint, to inform (someone).

Conjugation

Synonyms

• ((with of), to vest ownership): seise
• (qualities or characteristics): inhold

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• beleeve (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English beleven, bileven, from Old English bel?efan (“to believe”), a later variant to Proto-Germanic *galaubijan? (“to have faith, believe”). Cognate with Scots beleve (“to believe”). Compare Old English ?el?efan (“to be dear to; believe, trust”), Old English ?el?afa (“belief, faith, confidence, trust”), Old English l?of ("dear, valued, beloved, pleasant, agreeable"; > English lief). Related also to North Frisian leauwjen (“to believe”), West Frisian leauwe (“to believe”), Dutch geloven (“to believe”), German glauben (“to believe”), Gothic ???????????????????????????????????? (galaubjan, “to hold dear, valuable, or satisfactory, approve of, believe”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /b??li?v/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /b??liv/, /bi-/, /b?-/
• Rhymes: -i?v
• Hyphenation: be?lieve

Verb

believe (third-person singular simple present believes, present participle believing, simple past and past participle believed)

1. (transitive) To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing)
2. (transitive) To accept that someone is telling the truth.

3. (intransitive) To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.
4. (transitive) To opine, think, reckon

   Do you think this is good?

   Hmm, I believe it's okay.

Antonyms

• disbelieve

Usage notes

• 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 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.
• This is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See Category:English stative verbs

Derived terms

Related terms

• belief
• disbelief

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

believe

1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of believen

Anagrams

• beviele