_Belief_, as an intellectual process, is the acceptance of some thing as true on other grounds than personal observation and experience. We give _credence_ to a report, _a.s.sent_ to a proposition or to a proposal.
_Belief_ is stronger than _credence_; _credence_ might be described as a prima facie _belief_; _credence_ is a more formal word than _belief_, and seems to imply somewhat more of volition; we speak of giving _credence_ to a report, but not of giving _belief_. Goods are sold on _credit_; we give one _credit_ for good intentions. _Conviction_ is a _belief_ established by argument or evidence; _a.s.surance_ is _belief_ beyond the reach of argument; as, the Christian"s _a.s.surance_ of salvation. An _opinion_ is a general conclusion held as probable, tho without full certainty; a _persuasion_ is a more confident _opinion_, involving the heart as well as the intellect. In religion, a _doctrine_ is a statement of _belief_ regarding a single point; a _creed_ is a summary statement of _doctrines_. _Confidence_ is a firm dependence upon a statement as true, or upon a person as worthy. _Reliance_ is _confidence_ on which we act or are ready to act unquestioningly; we have a calm _reliance_ upon the uniformity of nature. _Trust_ is a practical and tranquil resting of the mind upon the integrity, kindness, friendship, or promises of a person; we have _trust_ in G.o.d. _Faith_ is a union of _belief_ and _trust_. _Faith_ is chiefly personal; _belief_ may be quite impersonal; we speak of _belief_ of a proposition, _faith_ in a promise, because the promise emanates from a person. But _belief_ in a person is often used with no appreciable difference from _faith_.
In religion it is common to distinguish between intellectual _belief_ of religious truth, as any other truth might be believed, and _belief_ of the heart, or saving _faith_.
Antonyms:
denial, dissent, doubt, infidelity, rejection, suspicion, disbelief, distrust, incredulity, misgiving, skepticism, unbelief.
Prepositions:
Have faith _in_ G.o.d; the faith _of_ the gospel.
FAITHFUL.
Synonyms:
devoted, incorruptible, stanch, true, trusty, firm, loyal, sure, trustworthy, unwavering.
A person is _faithful_ who will keep faith, whether with or without power to aid or serve; a person or thing is _trusty_ that possesses such qualities as to justify the fullest confidence and dependence. We may speak of a _faithful_ but feeble friend; we say a _trusty_ agent, a _trusty_ steed, a _trusty_ sword.
Antonyms:
capricious, false, unfaithful, untrustworthy, faithless, fickle, untrue, wavering.
Prepositions:
Faithful _in_ service; _to_ duty; _to_ comrade or commander; faithful _among_ the faithless.
FAME.
Synonyms:
celebrity, eminence, honor, notoriety, reputation, credit, glory, laurels, renown, repute.
distinction,
_Fame_ is the widely disseminated report of a person"s character, deeds, or abilities, and is oftenest used in the favorable sense. _Reputation_ and _repute_ are more limited than _fame_, and may be either good or bad. _Notoriety_ is evil _repute_ or a dishonorable counterfeit of _fame_. _Eminence_ and _distinction_ may result from rank, station, or character. _Celebrity_ is limited in range; we speak of local _celebrity_, or world-wide _fame_. _Fame_ in its best sense may be defined as the applause of numbers; _renown_, as such applause worthily won; we speak of the conqueror"s _fame_, the patriot"s _renown_. _Glory_ and _honor_ are of good import; _honor_ may be given for qualities or acts that should not win it, but it is always given as something good and worthy; we can speak of an evil _fame_, but not of evil _honor_; _glory_ has a more exalted and often a sacred sense.
Antonyms:
contempt, discredit, dishonor, humiliation, infamy, obscurity, contumely, disgrace, disrepute, ignominy, oblivion, shame.
FANATICISM.
Synonyms:
bigotry, credulity, intolerance, superst.i.tion.
_Fanaticism_ is extravagant or even frenzied zeal; _bigotry_ is obstinate and unreasoning attachment to a cause or creed; _fanaticism_ and _bigotry_ usually include _intolerance_, which is unwillingness to tolerate beliefs or opinions contrary to one"s own; _superst.i.tion_ is ignorant and irrational religious belief. _Credulity_ is not distinctively religious, but is a general readiness to believe without sufficient evidence, with a p.r.o.neness to accept the marvellous.
_Bigotry_ is narrow, _fanaticism_ is fierce, _superst.i.tion_ is ignorant, _credulity_ is weak, _intolerance_ is severe. _Bigotry_ has not the capacity to reason fairly, _fanaticism_ has not the patience, _superst.i.tion_ has not the knowledge and mental discipline, _intolerance_ has not the disposition. _Bigotry_, _fanaticism_, and _superst.i.tion_ are perversions of the religious sentiment; _credulity_ and _intolerance_ often accompany skepticism or atheism.
Antonyms:
cynicism, free-thinking, indifference, lat.i.tudinarianism.
FANCIFUL.
Synonyms:
chimerical, fantastic, grotesque, imaginative, visionary.
That is _fanciful_ which is dictated or suggested by fancy independently of more serious considerations; the _fantastic_ is the _fanciful_ with the added elements of whimsicalness and extravagance. The _fanciful_ swings away from the real or the ordinary lightly and pleasantly, the _fantastic_ extravagantly, the _grotesque_ ridiculously. A _fanciful_ arrangement of objects is commonly pleasing, a _fantastic_ arrangement is striking, a _grotesque_ arrangement is laughable. A _fanciful_ theory or suggestion may be clearly recognized as such; a _visionary_ scheme is erroneously supposed to have a basis in fact. Compare synonyms for DREAM; IDEA; IMAGINATION.
Antonyms:
accurate, commonplace, prosaic, regular, sound, calculable, literal, real, sensible, sure, calculated, ordinary, reasonable, solid, true.
FANCY.
Synonyms:
belief, desire, imagination, predilection, caprice, humor, inclination, supposition, conceit, idea, liking, vagary, conception, image, mood, whim.
An intellectual _fancy_ is a mental _image_ or picture founded upon slight or whimsical a.s.sociation or resemblance; a _conceit_ has less of the picturesque and more of the theoretic than a _fancy_; a _conceit_ is somewhat aside from the common laws of reasoning, as a _fancy_ is lighter and more airy than the common mode of thought. A _conceit_ or _fancy_ may be wholly unfounded, while a _conception_ always has, or is believed to have, some answering reality. (Compare REASON.) An intellectual _fancy_ or _conceit_ may be pleasing or amusing, but is never worth serious discussion; we speak of a mere _fancy_, a droll or odd _conceit_. An emotional or personal _fancy_ is a capricious _liking_ formed with slight reason and no exercise of judgment, and liable to fade as lightly as it was formed. In a broader sense, the _fancy_ signifies the faculty by which _fancies_ or mental images are formed, a.s.sociated, or combined. Compare synonyms for DREAM; IDEA; IMAGINATION.
Antonyms:
actuality, certainty, fact, reality, truth, verity.