believe
verb
ADV. firmly, really, seriously (only used with negatives), sincerely He firmly believed that he was right. No one seriously believes that this war will happen.| mistakenly
VERB + BELIEVE can't/cannot, could not I couldn't believe what I was hearing.| be hard to It's hard to believe that this campaign has been going on for ten years.| give sb to The boss gave me to believe that we would all get a pay rise.| have reason to We have reason to believe that the escaped prisoner may be hiding in this house.| be inclined to I'm inclined to believe you.| lead sb to The advertisement led us to believe that all prices had been cut.
PHRASES can/could hardly/scarcely believe sth, not believe a word of sth I didn't believe a word of what he said.
