1.believe的基本意思是“相信”, 相信;认为真实;把(某事)当真;认为有可能;认定;看作；引申可作“信赖”或“信仰”解。
I don’t believe you!（接人，表示相信某人的话）
我不相信你的话！
I believe him.
我相信他（的话）。（=I believe his words.）
He did not sound as if he believed her.
他听起来似乎并不相信她。
The man claimed to be a social worker and the old woman believed him.
那个男人自称是社会福利工作者，老妇人信以为真。
I believed his lies for years.
我很多年都对他的谎话信以为真。
I could not believe my eyes. She was far more beautiful than I had imagined.
我简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。她比我想象的漂亮多了。
Believe it or not, he asked me to marry him!
信不信由你，他向我求婚！
That’s normal, believe it or not.
那很正常，信不信由你。
The dollar, believe it or not, also rises.
美元也将上涨，信不信由你。
Believe it or not, he or she is on your side and is eager to see you do well.
不管你信不信，他或她都会站在你身边，希望你一切顺利。
But, believe it or not, yellow was once used to mean stop.
但是,信不信由你,黄色曾经被用来表示停止。
Believe it or not, that’s exactly what world leaders did at a lunch held by the United Nations in 2015.
信不信由你,世界各国领导人在2015年联合国举行的午餐会上就是这样做的。
Believe it or not, tomorrow is a new day!
不管你信不信，每一天都是新的！
Believe it or not, she has four children.
信不信由你，她已经有四个小孩了。
seeing is believing.眼见为实。
在口语里, believe还可作“想”“认为”解,表示和缓的、不太肯定的口气,相当于suppose,有时则仅仅表示客气,不愿说得太绝对。
2.believe用作及物动词时,后面可跟名词、代词或that/wh-从句作宾语,也可接以that从句(表示将来)充当直接宾语的双宾语;还可接以“(to be+) n./adj. ”或动词不定式充当补足语的复合宾语(表示过去或现在)。用作不及物动词时,后面常跟介词in。
The party believes (that) education is the most important issue facing the government.
该党把教育视为政府面临的最重要的问题。
I can’t believe how much better I feel.
真想不到我觉得好多了。
She couldn’t believe (that) it was all happening again.
她简直无法相信整件事又在重演。
She made me believe that she could help me.
她让我相信她能帮助我。
I believed that in civilized countries, torture had ended long ago.
我原以为在文明国家，严刑拷打早已销声匿迹。
这应该是一种虚拟语气用法，快在高考里出现了。
People used to believe (that) the earth was flat.
人们一度认为地球是平的。
He refused to believe (that) his son was involved in drugs.
他不愿相信他的儿子沾染毒品。
I do believe you’re right
我的确相信你是对的。
Police believe (that) the man may be armed.
警方认为那个人可能携有武器。
The police believe that the suspect is still in the small town.
警方认为嫌疑人仍藏在这个小镇中。
The vases are believed to be worth over $20 000 each.
那些花瓶据估计每个价值都超过2万元。
What do you think of the boy?The boy who(whom) I believed to be honest fooled me.
你觉得那个男孩怎么样？那个我相信是诚实的男孩愚弄了我。
It is believed that the couple have left the country.
据信那对夫妇已经离开了这个国家。
Three sailors are missing, believed drowned.
有三位船员失踪。相信是淹死了。
注意：
当 believe 和 that 从句连用陈述否定的观点或看法时，通常对 believe 而不是从句中的动词加以否定。例如，通常说
He didn’t believe she could do it（他认为她做不到），而很少说
He believed she couldn’t do it。
这种在否定前移的句型结构也适用于 consider, suppose 和 think 等意思相近的动词：
I don’t consider that you kept your promise.我认为你没有遵守诺言。
I don’t suppose he ever saw it.我想他从没见过它。
I don’t think he saw me.我认为他没有看到我。
3.当believe为被动语态时，后面习惯接不定式。
You are believed to be honest. 人们相信你是诚实的。
She is believed to be the youngest winner in the country.
她被认为是该国最年轻的冠军。
4.make believe是习惯用语，意为“假装”
make believe (that…)
假装
The children like to make believe that they live in a castle.
孩子们喜欢装作住在城堡中。
Danny made believe that be didn’t hear his mother calling him.
丹尼装作没听见他母亲喊他。
Let’s make believe we are pirates and search for treasures.
让我们扮作海盗去寻宝藏。
Susan made believe not to know anything about the matter.
苏珊假装对这件事毫不知情。
George made believe that he was sick so that he would not have to go to school.
乔治假装生病，以便不去上学。
She made believe to be ill.她假装生病了。
句中believe是不定式，但因前面是make，不带特定宾语，所以省略to。
5.
1）believe in+人或物；表示相信某人（或事物）的存在：
用作不及物动词时,后面常跟介词in。
Do you believe in God?
你相信有上帝吗？
I don’t believe in ghosts.
我不相信有鬼。
Do you believe in a life hereafter?
你相信有来世吗？
Do you believe in a cosmic plan?
你相信冥冥中的安排吗？
I believe in life after death.
我相信人死后生命会以某种形式存在。教堂婚礼
It would be hypocritical of me to have a church wedding when I don’t believe in God.
我不信上帝却到教堂举行婚礼，那就是我的虚伪了。
Do you believe in miracles? 你相信奇迹吗
2）believe in sb
信赖；信任；相信某人会成功
I believe in you.我信任你。
I believe you.我相信你所说的话。
I believe what you said but I don’t believe in you.我信你说的话，但我不信你。
If you believe in yourself you can succeed.
只要自信，就能成功。
I don’t usually believe in myself, so I’m trying to think more positively these days.
我通常不自信，所以这些天我试图更积极地思考。
They need a leader they can believe in. 他们需要一个可以信赖的领导。
From start to finish he believed in me, often more than I did myself.
他自始至终都相信我，而且时常超过我对自己的信任。
My parents have always believed in me. 一直以来我父母都对我抱有期望。
Despite his problems, his parents still believe in him. 尽管他问题多多，他的父母仍然很信任他。
I’ve never believed in John.
我从没有信赖过约翰。
I’m sure you’ll do great in the interview—I believe in you!
我相信你会在面试中表现出色——我相信你！
3）.believe in sth
认为某事好（或对、可接受相信）
I don’t believe in hitting children.
我不赞成打孩子。
She did not believe in indulging the children with presents.
她认为不能惯着孩子们要什么就给什么。
They don’t believe in marriage.
他们不相信婚姻。
He believed in peace.
他相信和平。
You are the reason I believe in love.
I believe in love just because of you.
因为你，我相信爱情。
I believe in the institution of marriage.
我相信婚姻制度。
They believe in magic
他们相信巫术。
Many African tribes believe in reincarnation.
许多非洲的部落都相信人会转世。
He believed in marital fidelity.
他认为婚内应该忠诚。
Don’t you believe in equality between men and women?
难道你不相信男女平等吗？
I still believe in the notion of an egalitarian society.
我仍然相信构建人人平等的社会的理念。
We believe in the power of prayer.
我们相信祈祷的力量。
If they really believe in this then they must be completely out of touch.
如果他们真的相信这一点，那么他们肯定是完全与现实脱节了。
I’ve always believed in living life to the full.
我总是相信生活要尽量充实。
Jack believed in finding happiness wherever possible
杰克认为应该及时行乐。
As regards the war, Haig believed in victory at any price.
至于这场战争，黑格认为要不惜任何代价取得胜利。
He believed in giving his staff scope for initiative
他认为应给员工提供发挥主动性的机会。
He believed in political activism to achieve justice.
他相信通过政治激进主义可以赢得正义。
I believe in progression, in taking risks, in never getting stale.
我崇尚进取、冒险和永不倦怠。
6. believe sth of sb
相信某人能干出某事
to think that sb is capable of sth
Are you sure he was lying? I can’t believe that of him.
你确信他在说谎吗？我不相信他会干这种事。