DictionaryAI

faith

FAYTH/feɪθ/

Pluralfaiths

6 meanings of faith

Practice

  1. 1
    religionnouncountable
    A system of religious or spiritual belief held by a person or community.

    Pilgrims of every faith gathered at the river for the festival.

    He left the faith of his childhood after a long period of doubt.

    UsagePeople are of a faith and raised in one: people of every faith, raised in the Catholic faith.

    Similarreligion, creed, belief, denomination, church

  2. 2
    firm beliefnoununcountable
    Complete trust or confidence in a person, thing, or idea.

    Like a leap taken across a gap whose far side you cannot see.

    I have complete faith in your judgment.

    Many voters are losing faith in the justice system.

    UsageUsually faith in someone or faith that something will happen. You have, keep or lose faith.

    Similartrust, confidence, belief, reliance, conviction

    Oppositedoubt, distrust, mistrust, skepticism

    Note

    Here belief runs ahead of proof, and English often sets it against knowledge. Tennyson's In Memoriam (1850) puts it plainly: "We have but faith: we cannot know." The King James Bible of 1611 gives it its best-known image, faith as a grain of mustard seed.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

  3. 3
    keeping promisesnoununcountable
    A binding obligation of loyalty or fidelity, together with the keeping of that obligation.

    Like the unbroken loyalty between longtime partners who never let each other down.

    A knight pledged faith to his lord and was bound to honor it.

    They kept faith with one another through every hardship.

    UsageMostly in set phrases: in good faith, keep faith with someone, break faith with someone.

    Similarloyalty, fidelity, allegiance, fealty

    Oppositedisloyalty, infidelity, betrayal, treachery

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    nounobsoleteuncountable
    The credibility or truthfulness of a statement or account.
    Note

    Here faith belongs to the account rather than to the listener: a narrative has faith when it deserves belief. William Mitford's History of Greece (1784–1810) still speaks of a narrative's faith in this way. The sense is now obsolete.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  2. 5
    adverbarchaic
    Short for in faith: really or truly. Now archaic.
    'Faith, friend,' he says, 'that was a nasty fall for a fellow that has supped weel. Where might your road be gaun to?'
    1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
    Note

    This is in faith with the in worn away. It is an adverb meaning "really, truly" that stands at the head of a remark, set off by a comma. Bulwer-Lytton's Pelham (1828) uses it in society banter. John Buchan's The Outgoing of the Tide (1902) puts it beside dialect forms like weel and gaun.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

  3. 6
    interjectionobsoleteabbreviationellipsis
    Short for by my faith: an oath meaning "truly" or "upon my word," used for emphasis or to show surprise.
    Note

    An oath has been trimmed to its last word: by my faith, meaning "I swear," with by my dropped. In print it can look exactly like the archaic "truly" adverb, and the difference is force. The adverb quietly vouches for a statement, while the interjection swears, usually at the head of a sentence: Faith, the thing is done.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of faith apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Latin "fidem" became Old French "fei, feid," which Middle English borrowed as "faith" (also "fay"). It pushed out the native Old English "ġelēafa," a word that also meant "belief." The final "-th" may come straight from a French [θ] sound, or it may be due to English abstract nouns ending in "-th," such as "truth" and "health."