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act of faith
noun
- an act that demonstrates or tests the strength of a person's convictions, as an important personal sacrifice.
act of faith
noun
- Christianity an act that demonstrates or tests a person's religious beliefs
Idioms and Phrases
Behavior that shows or tests a person's religious or other convictions, as in Rock climbing with a new, inexperienced partner was a real act of faith . The term is a translation of the Portuguese auto da fé , which referred to the sentencing and execution of heretics (often by burning at the stake) during the Inquisition, when punishing heresy was thought to constitute an assertion of faith. In modern times it is used for more benign circumstances. [Early 1700s]Example Sentences
“The president says she is confident there will be no more tariffs, but that is an act of faith,” wrote columnist Raymundo Riva Palacio in El Financiero.
When asked why he could not do that, he replied: "Well, you try proposing that a hospital in Wales closes", before going on to explain that it was an "act of faith" for people to believe that alternatives would be provided and would be better, such as more modern local facilities.
Sister Agnes chooses to voice her thoughts to the gathered cardinals only as an act of faith, calling out one of the papal candidates with evidence of his misbehavior.
The victim, who was not named, is still recovering and learning to trust but forgives the family in an act of faith, the statement said.
It truly is an act of faith and, for many of us, an act of survival.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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