这些动词均含有“相信，信任”之意。
believe : 普通用词，常表示一种缓和、不太肯定的口气。
- Strangely, no one believed us when we told them we’d been visited by a creature from Mars.
奇怪的是，当我们告诉他们曾有火星人来访时，居然没人相信。 - He believes that all children are born with equal intelligence.
他相信孩子们出生时智商是一样的。 - She’s arriving tomorrow, I believe.
我相信她明天会到的。 - “Is she coming alone?” “We believe not/so (= we think she is not/is).”
“她一个人来吗？”“我想不是的／是的。” - I believe her to be the finest violinist in the world.
我相信她是世界上最好的小提琴家。 - All the crew are missing, believed dead.
机组人员全部失踪，据信都已遇难。
trust : 指绝对相信或信赖某人。
- My sister warned me not to trust him.
我姐姐告诫我不要相信他。 - Trust me – I know about these things.
相信我——我了解这些东西。 - Trust your instincts, and do what you think is right.
相信你的直觉，做你认为正确的事情。 - I don’t trust air travel – it’s unnatural.
我信不过航空旅行——它不合乎自然规律。 - I trust him to make the right decision.
我相信他能作出正确的决定。 - That man is not to be trusted.
那个人不可靠。 - I wouldn’t trust him with my car.
我不会把我的车交给他用。 - Sometimes you have to trust in the goodness of human nature.
有时你只能寄希望于人性的善良。 - However much you plan an expedition like this, you still have to trust to luck to a certain extent.
像这样的探险不管你准备得多么仔细，在某种程度上你仍然得依靠运气。
confide : 侧重忠诚可靠与可信赖。
- It is important to have someone you can confide in.
有一位心腹知己很重要。
rely : 指在相信的基础上可进一步依靠，着重可靠性。
- British weather can never be relied on – it’s always changing.
英国的天气向来靠不住——总是变幻无常。 - Don’t rely on finding me here when you get back (= I might have gone).
不要指望能在这儿找到我——你回来时我可能已经走了。
#词汇辨析