belief may or may not imply certitude in the believer.
my belief that I had caught all the errors
faith almost always implies certitude even where there is no evidence or proof.
an unshakable faith in God
credence suggests intellectual assent without implying anything about grounds for assent.
a theory now given credence by scientists
credit may imply assent on grounds other than direct proof.
gave full credit to the statement of a reputable witness
Example Sentences
NounFaith without doubt leads to moral arrogance, the eternal pratfall of the religiously convinced. Joe Klein, Time, 17 May 2004Nick 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, 2000But 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. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Being men of faith, the coach and his pupil attended Bible studies together. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2022 Told in gorgeous, poetic vignettes, this coming of age story tells the tale of Taja’s exploration of faith, first love, sexuality, family, and the ties that both bond and bind. Leah Campano, Seventeen, 14 Sep. 2022 But for people of faith, the Bible can be a source of strength thanks to Bible verses about courage. Ian Palmer, Country Living, 13 Sep. 2022 There was every bit of faith in the Browns run game and defense, and none in the Panthers’ offense. Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 11 Sep. 2022 Students leave their studies at the prominent hillside facility with a deeper understanding of faith — their own and that of the Holy Land’s Jews, Muslims and Christians.The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Sep. 2022 Being in front of the camera in this series was kind of a leap of faith for me. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 10 Sep. 2022 The hopeful part had more to do with the development of Jones than a lack of faith in Belichick, who has taken 19 teams to playoffs in his 28 seasons as an NFL head coach, equaling the record held by the late Don Shula. Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2022 For behind-the-camera information, Muslim identity was determined through a variety of methods, but only those individuals with publicly available information on their faith were included as Muslim. Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Variety, 7 Sep. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
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 fay entry 2). Indo-European *bhei̯dh- is also usually claimed to be the source of Germanic *bīðan- "to wait" (see bide).