What does faith mean?
Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something, held often without requiring proof. It has two principal uses: a secular sense describing reliance on a person, institution, or outcome — as in having faith in a friend's judgment or in public institutions — and a religious sense denoting firm belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, grounded in conviction rather than empirical evidence. By extension, faith can refer to a particular religion itself, as when people of many faiths gather together. The word also survives in fixed expressions such as "in good faith," meaning sincerely and honestly, and "leap of faith," an act taken on trust despite uncertainty. Derived forms include faithful, faithfully, and faithfulness, all carrying the idea of loyalty and steadfastness. Warmly positive in tone, faith is among the most frequently used abstract nouns in English, spanning everyday conversation, journalism, and theology alike.
nounComplete trust or confidence in someone or something, especially without requiring proof. In religious contexts, a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than evidence.
- Complete trust or confidence in a person, thing, or idea.
- Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.
- A system of religious belief (e.g. the Christian faith).
- Fulfillment of one's promises or obligations, as in keeping faith.
"She never lost faith in her team's ability to turn the season around."
"After decades of service, the employees' faith in the pension scheme proved well founded."
"Interfaith dialogue brought together leaders from many faiths to discuss shared values."
Used almost exclusively in the sense of distinct religions or systems of belief, as in "the world's great faiths." The secular sense of trust is normally uncountable.
"Leaders from many faiths attended the ceremony."
The word "faith" and "fidelity" are twins — both descend from Latin fides, so every time you call a dog loyal, you're speaking the language of belief.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of faith
Faith comes from Old French feid or feit, which developed from Latin fides, meaning "trust" or "confidence," itself rooted in the Proto-Indo-European verb *bheydh- ("to trust"). It entered Middle English around the thirteenth century, gradually displacing the older native term "belief" as a word for firm trust. The same Latin root gives English fidelity, confide, fiduciary, and bona fide, making faith part of a broad family of words about trustworthiness and loyalty.
Related word forms
How faith is actually used
"Faith" is neutral to positive in connotation and appears in both everyday and formal registers. In religious contexts it carries deep theological weight, while in secular use it often means practical confidence, as in "public faith in institutions." The plural "faiths" is standard when referring to different religions.
Easily confused with faith
"Fate" refers to a power or course of events believed to be predetermined, while "faith" is trust or belief; they differ in both spelling and meaning despite similar sound.