proposition

[prop-uh-zish-uhn]

noun

1. the act of offering or suggesting something to be considered, accepted, adopted, or done.

2. a plan or scheme proposed.

3. an offer of terms for a transaction, as in business.

4. a thing, matter, or person considered as something to be dealt with or encountered.

   Keeping diplomatic channels open is a serious proposition.

5. anything stated or affirmed for discussion or illustration.

6. Rhetoric.,  a statement of the subject of an argument or a discourse, or of the course of action or essential idea to be advocated.

7. Logic.,  a statement in which something is affirmed or denied, so that it can therefore be significantly characterized as either true or false.

8. Mathematics.,  a formal statement of either a truth to be demonstrated or an operation to be performed; a theorem or a problem.

9. a proposal of usually illicit sexual relations.

verb (used with object)

1. to propose sexual relations to.

2. to propose a plan, deal, etc., to.

proposition

/ ˌprɒpəˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. a proposal or topic presented for consideration

2. philosophy

   1. the content of a sentence that affirms or denies something and is capable of being true or false

   2. the meaning of such a sentence: I am warm always expresses the same proposition whoever the speaker is Compare statement

3. maths a statement or theorem, usually containing its proof

4. informal,  a person or matter to be dealt with

   he's a difficult proposition

5. an invitation to engage in sexual intercourse

verb

1. (tr) to propose a plan, deal, etc, to, esp to engage in sexual intercourse

Other Word Forms

• propositionally adverb
• propositional adjective
• underproposition noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of proposition¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English proposicio(u)n, from Latin prōpositiōn- (stem of prōpositiō ) “a setting forth.” See propositus, -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of proposition¹

C14 proposicioun, from Latin prōpositiō a setting forth; see _propose

Synonym Study

See proposal.

Example Sentences

Joining the gold rally might seem like an expensive proposition, but it remains the key hedge against the dollar’s demise.

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First, he says that sports bettors can get a better value proposition from prediction markets.

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Its participation fee is orders of magnitude less than other fairs, making it a particularly attractive proposition for participants: small galleries showing emerging artists.

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Along the way, there’s “agentic AI” and other propositions that could still produce decent productivity gains and make lots of money if widely adopted.

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“We feel like we can continue to be a catalyst with that demand as well, so that we can get the cost proposition exactly where we want,” he said.

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Related Words

• hypothesis 
• invitation 
• motion 
• premise 
• proposal 
• recommendation