postulate

[ verb pos-chuh-leyt; noun pos-chuh-lit, -leyt ]
See synonyms for: postulatepostulatedpostulating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),pos·tu·lat·ed, pos·tu·lat·ing.
  1. to ask, demand, or claim.

  2. to claim or assume the existence or truth of, especially as a basis for reasoning or arguing.

  1. to assume without proof, or as self-evident; take for granted.

  2. Mathematics, Logic. to assume as a postulate.

noun
  1. something taken as self-evident or assumed without proof as a basis for reasoning.

  2. Mathematics, Logic. a proposition that requires no proof, being self-evident, or that is for a specific purpose assumed true, and that is used in the proof of other propositions; axiom.

  1. a fundamental principle.

  2. a necessary condition; prerequisite.

Origin of postulate

1
1525–35; <Latin postulātum petition, thing requested, noun use of neuter of past participle of postulāre to request, demand, akin to pōscere to request

Other words for postulate

Other words from postulate

  • pos·tu·la·tion, noun
  • pos·tu·la·tion·al, adjective
  • re·pos·tu·late, verb (used with object), re·pos·tu·lat·ed, re·pos·tu·lat·ing.
  • re·pos·tu·late, noun
  • re·pos·tu·la·tion, noun
  • un·pos·tu·lat·ed, adjective

Words Nearby postulate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use postulate in a sentence

  • All theologians and some metaphysicians postulate a fifth state of life, the divine, placing it above the rest as their source.

    Communism and Christianism | William Montgomery Brown

British Dictionary definitions for postulate

postulate

verb(ˈpɒstjʊˌleɪt) (tr; may take a clause as object)
  1. to assume to be true or existent; take for granted

  2. to ask, demand, or claim

  1. to nominate (a person) to a post or office subject to approval by a higher authority

noun(ˈpɒstjʊlɪt)
  1. something taken as self-evident or assumed as the basis of an argument

  2. a necessary condition or prerequisite

  1. a fundamental principle

  2. logic maths an unproved and indemonstrable statement that should be taken for granted: used as an initial premise or underlying hypothesis in a process of reasoning

Origin of postulate

1
C16: from Latin postulāre to ask for, require; related to pōscere to request

Derived forms of postulate

  • postulation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for postulate

postulate

[ pŏschə-lĭt ]


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for postulate

postulate

A statement accepted as true for the purposes of argument or scientific investigation; also, a basic principle. (See axiom.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.