believed

Believed is the past tense and past participle of the verb believe. It denotes accepting something as true, having confidence in the truth of a statement, or holding a viewpoint as a matter of faith. In modern usage, believed can describe past beliefs or be used in constructions that convey belief as a current assumption.

Etymology and form: Believe originates from Old English gelyfan or gelīfan, with related forms in other Germanic languages. The past tense and past participle are formed regularly as believed. The present participle is believing, yielding forms such as is believed and has believed in various tenses.

Usage and grammar: Believed is used to describe beliefs held in the past, e.g., She believed the story yesterday. It also appears in perfect constructions, as in I have believed this to be true since childhood. In passive constructions, it is common to say It is believed that the project will succeed, which reports a belief held by others. With modal and periphrastic forms, it can express hedging or uncertainty, as in It is believed that the claim may be exaggerated.

Phrasal distinctions: Believe typically means to accept as true; believe in can express faith in a person, idea, or deity; and belief is the noun form. Believed can imply that the belief may not endure, depending on context.

See also: belief, believer, believability, believable, belief system.

In encyclopedic or journalistic writing, believed often appears in statements about what people hold to be true, or what is considered true by experts or the public.