act of faith

English

Etymology

Compare Portuguese auto da fé.

Noun

act of faith (plural acts of faith)

1. (religion) An action that demonstrates one's religious faith.
2. (figuratively) An action taken based on trust in a positive outcome with no guarantees.

   Synonym: leap of faith

Translations

action that demonstrates one's religious faith

• Dutch: geloofsdaad (nl) m, daad van geloof m
• Finnish: uskon teko
• French: acte de foi m
• Irish: gníomh creidimh m
• Italian: atto di fede m
• Latin: actus dē fidē m
• Polish: akt wiary m
• Portuguese: auto da fé m

action taken based on trust in a positive outcome with no guarantees — see leap of faith

Further reading

• “an act of faith” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “act of faith”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “act of faith”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “act of faith”, in Collins English Dictionary.