Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

beggar belief en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (UK, intransitive) To appear implausible or unbelievable.
    • "It beggars belief that delegates are given smartcards for free travel around the city, yet ordinary Glaswegians will still be forced to use a disjointed ticketing system." 2021 November 17, “Network News: Anger at delegates' preferential treatment for Glasgow smartcards”, in RAIL, number 944, page 13:
    • It beggars belief to suppose that corporate policies can always pursue the best interests of a company.
    • In Shakespeare's day boys or men took the part of women, and how characters like Lady Macbeth and Desdemona were adequately rendered by youths beggars belief. 1907, Sidney Lee, Shakespeare and the Modern Stage:
    • [… 2022 September 23, 0:07 from the start, in As Putin goes for broke: What next after Ukraine annexation referendums? • FRANCE 24 English, spoken by François Picard, France 24, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2022:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
beggaring belief Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
beggars belief Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
beggared belief Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
beggared belief Tense=Past lexicographic

Relateds

belief-beggaring

Synonyms

beggar description

Translations (11)

fr dépasser l'entendement (Translations) · es resultar totalmente inverosímil (Translations) · fi olla vaikea uskoa (Translations) · es parecer increíble (Translations) · es sobreponerse a la credibilidad (Translations) · es sobrepasar el entendimiento (Translations) · fi olla mahdotonta uskoa (Translations) · fr défier l'imagination (Translations) · pl mącić rozum (Translations) · es rebasar la creencia (Translations) · pl nie mieścić się w głowie (Translations)