assumption

[uh-suhmp-shuhn]

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.

assumption

¹

/ 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

Assumption

²

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of assumption¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of assumption¹

C13: from Latin assūmptiō a taking up, from assūmere to _assume

Example Sentences

Comparatively, a 40-year-old starting to save the same amount under the same assumptions for 25 years would have a little more than $57,000 by age 65.

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Nowadays, they qualify as escapism confirming our assumptions about ridiculous, rapacious people, which is terribly fun.

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But this obsession is so clouded by ignorance and false assumptions that the nature and direction of the relationship is never straightforward.

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This work challenges long-held assumptions that rationality, defined as forming and updating beliefs based on evidence, belongs only to humans.

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"The Morkovin's hypothesis allows us to make simplifying assumptions so that the computational demands to design hypersonic vehicles can become more doable."

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Related Words

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