premise

American  

[prem-is] / ˈprɛm ɪs /

noun

1. Logic. Also premiss. a proposition supporting or helping to support a conclusion.

   Synonyms:

   postulate, assumption

2. premises,

   1. a tract of land including its buildings.

   2. a building together with its grounds or other appurtenances.

   3. the property forming the subject of a conveyance or bequest.

3. Law.

   1. a basis, stated or assumed, on which reasoning proceeds.

   2. an earlier statement in a document.

   3. (in a bill in equity) the statement of facts upon which the complaint is based.

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verb (used with object)

premised, premising

1. to set forth beforehand, as by way of introduction or explanation.

2. to assume, either explicitly or implicitly, (a proposition) as a premise for a conclusion.

   Synonyms:

   hypothesize, postulate

verb (used without object)

premised, premising

1. to state or assume a premise.

premise British  

noun

1. Also: premiss.  logic a statement that is assumed to be true for the purpose of an argument from which a conclusion is drawn

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verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to state or assume (a proposition) as a premise in an argument, theory, etc

Other Word Forms

• repremise verb

Etymology

Origin of premise

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English premiss, from Medieval Latin praemissa, noun use of feminine of Latin praemissus, past participle of praemittere “to send before,” equivalent to prae- “before, in front, ahead,” + mittere “to send”; pre-

Example Sentences

The company’s premise that consumers would pay a premium for sustainably made products proved flawed, according to an analyst.

From The Wall Street Journal

The RCA opposed the bid, with its barristers stating it was "blindingly obvious" that Rosindell's licence to use the premises only applied when he was a Tory.

From BBC

But Anthropic, a company premised on model safety, wasn’t sleeping.

From The Wall Street Journal

I disagreed with the premise of the symposium and declined.

From The Wall Street Journal

She hit upon the premise for the series right around her 27th birthday, a time when more and more of her friends began to get married, and developed the idea while working on other projects.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assertion
• assumption
• basis
• ground
• presumption
• proposition
• thesis