Standard Lemma guide

unbelief

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ʌnbɪˈliːf/
  • Mid-Atlantic, US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An absence (or rejection) of belief, especially religious belief.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a rejection of belief

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: disbelief

Antonyms: belief

Broader terms: content, cognitive content, mental object

Narrower terms: agnosticism, skepticism, scepticism, atheism

History

Etymology

From Middle English unbilefe, unbileve, equivalent to un- + belief.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: неве́рие (nevérie) — lack of belief
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不信仰 (bù xìnyǎng) — lack of belief
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不信 (bùxìn) — lack of belief
  • Dutch: ongeloof — lack of belief
  • Esperanto: malkredeco — lack of belief
  • Ewe: nuteƒemawɔmawɔ — lack of belief
  • French: incrédulité — lack of belief
  • German: Unglaube — lack of belief
  • Ancient Greek: ἀπιστία (apistía) — lack of belief
  • Irish: ainchreideamh — lack of belief
  • Irish: éigreideamh — lack of belief
  • Irish: neamhchreideamh — lack of belief
  • Japanese: 不信心 (fushinjin) — lack of belief
  • Latin: incredulitas — lack of belief
  • Russian: неве́рие (nevérije) — lack of belief
  • Ottoman Turkish: كفر (küfr) — lack of belief