believed

verb

past tense of believe
1
as in accepted
to regard as right or true only the most naive car buyer would have believed the salesman's claim that the dealership was actually losing money on the deal

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in thought
to have as an opinion despite the horrors she witnessed and endured, Anne Frank steadfastly believed that "people are really good at heart"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of believed Fairfield Police Chief Dan Marshall said on Monday that investigators believed the suspect had been targeting one person inside the store when the shooting occurred. — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026 At its heart is a figure shaped like a mountain which is believed to be the god Yúcahu. — James Rampton, TheWeek, 3 Nov. 2026 During the arrest, investigators allegedly observed drug paraphernalia and items believed to be associated with recent retail thefts inside the vehicle, according to Murgo. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026 As the plane was descending, a man believed to be Gregory could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer, according to air traffic controller audio. — Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026 Between the two wars, however, many observers believed that international sanctions were unable to deter Iraqi aggression and neutralize its weapons programs. — S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2026 Rescue crews were searching areas, including hydropower project tunnels, where workers were believed to be trapped. — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026 Washington state health officials this week reported what is believed to be the first bird flu death of the year. — ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026 The court filing alleges that social media users believed that the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders actually made appearances at the My Chemical Romance concert, and that the circulation of videos was not accidental. — Maven Navarro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for believed
  1. accepted
  2. thought
  3. understood
  4. considered
  5. took
  6. guessed
  7. figured
  8. imagined
Verb
  • Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate, has embraced the strategy, claiming, without offering any evidence, that El-Sayed has accepted campaign contributions from supporters of Hezbollah and Hamas.
    — Eliza Griswold, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Martinez Gonzalez helped arrange travel after customers arrived and accepted payments while working with his girlfriend and co-defendant, Marianny Lucia Lopez-Torres.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of accepted
Verb
  • Chris Costagli, a vice president and food thought leader at NielsenIQ, said high gas prices have worsened Americans’ concerns about affordability, and that's dampening demand for Halloween treats.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Primetime director Lance Oppenheim thought of Lipnicki for his latest role while rewatching Jerry Maguire as a reference point for the new movie.
    — Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of thought
Verb
  • Running has historically been understood as an affordable sport.
    — Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2026
  • But the methodology Benson and her co-authors used to reach those conclusions 21 years ago has not been generally understood.
    — Katie Worth, ProPublica, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of understood
Verb
  • Its Second District is considered a battleground region, with former state secretary of state Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat, still locked in a tight race against Republican former governor Paul LePage as of publication time.
    — Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The contest to represent the northwestern Ohio district anchored by Toledo was considered by the Cook Political Report to be a toss-up before the election prognosticator changed its rating to Leans Democrat a week before Election Day.
    — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of considered
Verb
  • That one, the Panthers gained a total of eight net yards and settled for a field goal and took a 3-0 lead.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Other celebrities who suffered from the condition include Robin Williams, who took his own life at 63, and Casey Kasem.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of took
Verb
  • Monahan did more digging and found out there were three adult brothers living in Boston who could have owned the canns, and DeAngelis guessed that they were made before Henry Vassall’s death in 1769.
    — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2026
  • That Bell was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes was still known to only a handful of people, including Robert Louis Stevenson, who had by then guessed the truth.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of guessed
Verb
  • She’s figured centrally in the government’s efforts to find and prosecute noncitizen voters.
    — Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 28 Oct. 2026
  • At the beginning of Fatherland, no one—not even the aged Mann, played here in a quietly extraordinary performance by Hanns Zischler—has figured that out.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of figured
Verb
  • The roundtables definitely felt way more intense than I’d imagined and go on for a lot longer.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Ella Stiller never imagined herself on a legal drama, but Robert and Michelle King don’t make your traditional legal drama.
    — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of imagined

Browse Nearby Words

believe
believed
believer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Believed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/believed. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quondam

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All