postulate

American  

[pos-chuh-leyt, pos-chuh-lit, -leyt] / ˈpɒs tʃəˌleɪt, ˈpɒs tʃə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

postulated, postulating

1. to ask, demand, or claim.

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

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

   Synonyms:

   conjecture, presuppose, hypothecate

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

---

noun

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

   Synonyms:

   conjecture, assumption, axiom, theory, hypothesis

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.

3. a fundamental principle.

4. a necessary condition; prerequisite.

postulate British  

verb

1. to assume to be true or existent; take for granted

2. to ask, demand, or claim

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

---

noun

1. something taken as self-evident or assumed as the basis of an argument

2. a necessary condition or prerequisite

3. a fundamental principle

4. 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

postulate Scientific  

/ pŏs′chə-lĭt /

1. See axiom

---

postulate Cultural  

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

---

Other Word Forms

• postulation noun
• postulational adjective
• repostulate verb (used with object)
• repostulation noun
• unpostulated adjective

Etymology

Origin of postulate

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

Explanation

Assume something or present it as a fact and you postulate it. Physicists postulate the existence of parallel universes, which is a little mind-blowing. Anyone who has suffered through geometry class is familiar with some of the greatest hits, like Euclid's postulate and the point-line-plane postulate. Those are propositions that have to be assumed for other mathematical statements to follow logically. As a verb (pronounced "POST-you-late") it describes the act of presenting an idea, theory, belief, or concept.

Example Sentences

Researchers postulate that repeated exposure of this sort allowed the virus to push into the cells — a brute force entry more than a lock-picking.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2024

The infamous and problematic "measurement postulate" of quantum theory is not needed, since quantum superpositions necessarily localise through their interaction with classical spacetime.

From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2023

Conversely, however, you could postulate that there are other infinities between the cardinality of the natural and real numbers—and encounter no problems either.

From Scientific American • Jul. 13, 2023

Scan the room where contestants gather at the competition's start, and you may postulate that the correct response rests in hulking muscles, low body fat and protein shake consumption.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2023

So in building models we would postulate that the sugar-phosphate backbone was very regular, and the order of bases of necessity very irregular.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

Related Words

• hypothesize
• posit
• presuppose
• theorize