assumption

American  

[uh-suhmp-shuhn] / əˈsʌmp ʃən /

noun

1. something taken for granted; a supposition.

   a correct assumption.

   Synonyms:

   theory, postulate, guess, conjecture, hypothesis, presupposition

2. the act of taking for granted or supposing.

   Synonyms:

   presupposition, presumption

3. the act of taking to or upon oneself.

   Synonyms:

   acceptance

4. the act of taking possession of something.

   the assumption of power.

   Synonyms:

   usurpation, appropriation, seizure

5. arrogance; presumption.

   Synonyms:

   gall, forwardness, effrontery

6. the taking over of another's debts or obligations.

7. Ecclesiastical.

   1. (often initial capital letter) the bodily taking up into heaven of the Virgin Mary.

   2. (initial capital letter) a feast commemorating this, celebrated on August 15.

8. Logic. the minor premise of a syllogism.

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assumption ¹ British  

/ əˈsʌmpʃən /

noun

1. the act of taking something for granted or something that is taken for granted

2. an assuming of power or possession of something

3. arrogance; presumption

4. logic a statement that is used as the premise of a particular argument but may not be otherwise accepted Compare axiom

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Assumption ² British  

/ əˈsʌmpʃən /

noun

1. the taking up of the Virgin Mary (body and soul) into heaven when her earthly life was ended

2. the feast commemorating this, celebrated by Roman Catholics on Aug 15

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Pop Culture

—Assumption persona: A persona is a detailed description of a fictional user (of a product, software program, etc.), based on real-world data. Software engineers and data companies create personas as user models to help build their products. In order to illustrate the utility of using data-driven personas in design, “assumption personas” (personas derived from existing assumptions about users) are used as negative examples showing how assumptions can lead to bad design choices. —Assumption of risk: the name for a defense used in tort law, where the defense argues that the plaintiff took action knowing the risks involved.

Other Word Forms

• assumptive adjective
• assumptively adverb
• misassumption noun
• nonassumption noun
• overassumption noun
• preassumption noun
• reassumption noun
• self-assumption noun
• superassumption noun

Etymology

Origin of assumption

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English assumpcioun, assompcioun, assumsion, from Latin assūmptiōn- (stem of assūmptiō ), equivalent to assūmpt(us) “taken up” (past participle of assūmere ) + -iōn- noun suffix; assume, -ion

Example Sentences

But it is another tremor shaking up assumptions about the global economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

This avoids assumptions, provides clarity and might even influence how some people proceed with ordering.

From MarketWatch

While the business will continue to be a thorn in Elevance’s side, “we have reflected that in our planning assumptions,” Boudreaux said.

From Barron's

Betting that one employer will remain among them indefinitely is a risky assumption.

From MarketWatch

This discovery reshapes long-standing assumptions about where these mysterious signals come from and how they are produced.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• acceptance
• belief
• expectation
• guess
• hunch
• hypothesis
• inference
• premise
• presumption
• supposition
• suspicion
• theory