disbelieve

verb

dis·​be·​lieve ˌdis-bə-ˈlēv 

disbelieved; disbelieving; disbelieves

transitive verb

: to hold not worthy of belief : not believe

intransitive verb

: to withhold or reject belief

disbeliever noun

Synonyms

• deny

Examples of disbelieve in a Sentence

Several jurors disbelieved the witness's testimony.

many disbelieved the medium's claims that she could communicate with the spirits of the dead

Recent Examples on the Web

Over the last few years, Monfils has thrilled crowds pretty much wherever he’s been, drawing awestruck reactions from people disbelieving at how someone in their mid- and now late 30s can be producing such spellbinding tennis. —James Hansen, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025

The higher-ups are disbelieving, but Alex points out that the network has a fancy new AI that can replicate her voice in a zillion languages. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025

Pearl, Dale’s adult daughter, vacillates between disbelieving that her father committed suicide and blaming her mother for it. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025

And so this loss of voice is her body’s way of protecting her from the double trauma of having her family disbelieve her. —Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1644, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for disbelieve

• interweave
• undeceive
• achieve
• believe
• conceive
• deceive
• naive
• perceive
• receive
• relieve
• reprieve
• retrieve

Kids Definition

disbelieve

verb

dis·​be·​lieve ˌdis-bə-ˈlēv 

: to think not to be true or real : fail to believe

disbelieved the witness's testimony

disbeliever noun