faith

noun \ ˈfāth \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: faith in a Sentence

Definition of faith

plural faiths play \ˈfāths, sometimes ˈfāt͟hz\

1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty

lost faith in the company's president

b (1) : fidelity to one's promises

(2) : sincerity of intentions

acted in good faith

2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God

(2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion

b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof

clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return

(2) : complete trust

3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

the Protestant faith

— on faith

: without question

took everything he said on faith

See faith defined for English-language learners

See faith defined for kids

Examples of faith in a Sentence

Faith without doubt leads to moral arrogance, the eternal pratfall of the religiously convinced. —Joe Klein, Time, 17 May 2004
Nick wiped at the moustache of sweat droplets that was as much a part of his face as his eyes and nose and gave a shrug that indicated a certain lack of faith in our judgment. —Tom Perrotta, Joe College, 2000
But while no one with a grain of sense trusted Miss Stephanie, Jem and I had considerable faith in Miss Maudie. She had never told on us, had never played cat-and-mouse with us, she was not at all interested in our private lives. She was our friend. —Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960
His supporters have accepted his claims with blind faith.
Our faith in the government has been badly shaken by the recent scandals.
Lending him the money to start his own business was an act of faith.
It requires a giant leap of faith for us to believe that she is telling the truth.
Nothing is more important to her than her faith in God.
She says that her faith has given her the courage to deal with this tragedy.

Recent Examples of faith from the Web

Elsewhere Monroe confronts the type of everyday struggles that visit long-term relationships in a way that touches upon the faith in tenacity depicted in the opening track.

— peter margasak, Chicago Reader, "Ashley Monroe rejects typical mainstream country to explore life in all of its complexity," 7 June 2018
Driven, and led admirably by Ballon d'Or winner Fabio Cannavaro, the Italian national team began the task of restoring the faith of a nation scorned, to the backdrop of a crumbling domestic scene back home.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 3 Weeks To Go - When Italy Ruled in 2006 in the Face of Domestic Turmoil," 4 June 2018
Trump later canceled the meeting, accusing North Korea of acting in bad faith.

— monique judge, The Root, "Trump’s On-Again, Off-Again Relationship With North Korea Is Back On. Again," 1 June 2018
The Mormon church is celebrating the 40th anniversary of reversing its ban on black people in the lay priesthood and rekindling debate about one of the faith's most sensitive topics.

— brady mccombs, Fox News, "Mormons grapple with race 40 years after ending black ban," 1 June 2018
The judge later ruled that the officer had recorded the arrest and had acted in bad faith by failing to preserve the video.

— bob egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, "San Mateo County judge reprimanded," 30 May 2018
In the Islamic faith, everyone who has reached puberty is expected to fast except for those in certain situations.

— lauren castle, azcentral, "What do you know about Ramadan, the Islamic holy month?," 30 May 2018
Trump’s final decision was abrupt, but doubts had been growing for several days, with indications all week that the North Koreans were operating in bad faith.

— author: philip rucker, ashley parker, josh dawsey, Anchorage Daily News, "White House commitment to summit ended as spontaneously as it began," 25 May 2018
But Black church is also always about moving forward; restoration, keeping the faith in the face of opposition, shaking off the shackles; working out your soul’s salvation as an individual but also a member of a larger society.

— refinery29.com, "5 Things I Learned In Black Church," 21 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'faith.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of faith

Middle English feith, fei, borrowed from Anglo-French feit, feid, fei, going back to Latin fidēs "trust, guarantee, proof, sincerity, loyalty, belief," going back to *bhid-ēi-, noun derivative from zero-grade of an Indo-European verbal base *bhei̯dh- "entrust, trust," whence Latin fīdere "to trust (in), have confidence (in)," fīdus "faithful," Greek peíthesthai "to obey, comply with, believe," peíthein "to persuade, prevail upon," Albanian be "oath," and probably Old Church Slavic běždǫ, běditi "to compel, constrain," běda "distress, need"

Note: The English word is an early loan from medieval French, first attested in a homily fragment from the 12th century (see feþ in Dictionary of Old English); it appears to preserve the final interdental fricative generally lost in early Old French—a loss reflected in the more common Anglo-French form fei (also loaned into Middle English—see ²fay). Indo-European *bhei̯dh- is also usually claimed to be the source of Germanic *bīðan- "to wait" (see bide).

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year