Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BE-LIEVE', v.t.

1. To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity. When we believe upon the authority of reasoning, arguments, or a concurrence of facts and circumstances, we rest our conclusions upon their strength or probability, their agreement with our own experience, &c.
2. To expect or hope with confidence; to trust. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. – Ps. xxvii.