leap of faith

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

an act of committing to a course of action whose success cannot be guaranteed by evidence or rational certainty, requiring trust in an outcome that cannot yet be seen or proven; in religious contexts the phrase derives from the existentialist philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, who argued that faith requires a qualitative jump beyond the bounds of rational demonstration; in secular and scientific contexts a leap of faith describes the willingness to invest in an idea, technology, or hypothesis before its value has been confirmed — the entrepreneurial decision to pursue a novel approach before the market has validated it, or the scientific commitment to a theoretical framework before experimental proof is available; it celebrates the necessary role of risk-taking in progress