premise

American  

[prem-is] / ˈprɛm ɪs /

noun

• premises
  plural

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)

• premises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• premised,
  past participle,  past
• premising
  present participle

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)

• premises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• premised,
  past participle,  past
• premising
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

• repremise
  verb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• premises
  plural

Participles

• premising
  present
• premised
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• premise
  simple
• premises
  simple
• have premised
  perfect
• has premised
  perfect
• am premising
  progressive
• are premising
  progressive
• is premising
  progressive
• have been premising
  perfect progressive
• has been premising
  perfect progressive

Past

• premised
  simple
• had premised
  perfect
• was premising
  progressive
• were premising
  progressive
• had been premising
  perfect progressive

Future

• will premise
  simple
• will have premised
  perfect
• will be premising
  progressive
• will have been premising
  perfect progressive

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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”; see pre-

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Explanation

A premise is what forms the basis of a theory or a plot. When you called 911 on the guy in your back yard, it was on the premise that he was a thief and not the meter-reader. In logic, the premise is the basic statement upon whose truth an argument is based. Criticize alternative theories by demonstrating their false premises. In a more general sense, it's a basic assertion. On the premise that people are generally good, you keep your doors unlocked. Premise is also used more loosely for the starting point for a plot. A movie's premise could be that two people trapped on a desert island will inevitably fall in love.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

premise premises premised premising

McCarthy’s “Spicy” is hard to beat, but a Zacharia parody could come in a close second should it end up as the premise for “SNL’s” cold open this weekend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Along with Jerry Seinfeld, a comedy-club pal, Mr. David was instrumental in conceiving the premise of “Seinfeld,” which began as an exploration of how a comedian gets his ideas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

He routinely met a hostile premise with calm facts, a sharp answer and a smile that made the host’s irritation look frivolous.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026

After its premiere at Sundance film festival earlier this year, The Guardian awarded it, external two stars, praising the "eye-catching premise" but cautioning that there was "too much wood but not enough fire".

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

He claimed to have witnessed the incident with his own eyes, and I remember how upset he became one morning when Mitchell Sanders challenged him on its basic premise.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

Early Monday morning, agents from Homeland Security Investigations, part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, surrounded Omar’s home and entered the premises, then left with boxes and other items.

From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026

It is following what it calls a "prebuild approach" that will allow firms to move into their new premises quickly.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Local law enforcement quickly showed up to tell the federal agents to leave the premises.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026

“Without remedies, this could mean fewer options for businesses that provide ATMs on commercial premises and, ultimately, higher fees for people who rely on the machines to access cash,” the regulator said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

“You can't leave school premises without permission just because the fancy takes you!”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

“This was premised on a convergence in U.S. rates with those abroad as the Fed remained on hold and other central banks caught up,” said the Morgan Stanley team.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

She did not provide the genetic material that created the child, and the surrogacy agreement was premised on the understanding that Gilkar and Ahmed would be the child’s parents.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Trademarks, unlike copyrights or patents, are intellectual property that are not premised on creating value for whoever registers them; they’re about protecting consumers.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

Expectations of the proliferation of AI across industries and in consumer applications were premised on a massive build-out of the data centers needed to support the technology.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

The more sure you were of yourself and your judgment, the harder it was to find opportunities premised on the notion that you were, in the end, probably wrong.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Feinstein, who is well known for her opposition to drones, is premising her legislation on safety concerns.

From Forbes ● Dec. 3, 2014

One of his most premising innovations was a new Secretariat for non-Christian religions; but Paul entrusted the project to a Curia professional, Paolo Cardinal Marella, and almost nothing has been heard of it since.

From Time Magazine Archive

I must now relate how these three animals were caught, premising that the capture of the female was the first instance of an adult gorilla being taken alive.

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 7 by Charles Herbert Sylvester

"I leave the explanation to Mr. Legard," said May, blushing a little under Sir Rupert's glance, "whilst I go and see mamma, only premising that luncheon hour is past, and you had better not linger."

From Sir Noel's Heir A Novel by May Agnes Fleming

However, after thus premising, we shall allow him an opportunity of speaking for himself.

From Nicotiana Or The Smoker's and Snuff-Taker's Companion by Henry James Meller

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Related Words

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

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