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

Derived Forms

• ˌpropoˈsitional, adjective
• ˌpropoˈsitionally, adverb

Other Words From

• propo·sition·al adjective
• propo·sition·al·ly adverb
• under·propo·sition 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

How tech does these things is often arcane, but what it does – the outcome – should be easy to explain, especially as a business or investment proposition.

From Fortune

E-commerce, at least for now, has helped the company deliver on that proposition.

From Digiday

Microsoft still owns Bing’s search engine, Xbox’s gaming console and even MSN’s online portal, but it has become more of a business-facing tech company than a consumer proposition.

From Digiday

Landing pages need to communicate this proposition in a succinct way sufficiently.

From Search Engine Watch

As a business, your unique selling proposition is what sets you and your competitor’s miles apart.

From Search Engine Watch

However, welcoming refugees is an expensive and potentially risky proposition for European countries.

From The Daily Beast

It stands for the proposition that the biological basis of procreation should also be the sole organizing principle of society.

From The Daily Beast

An HIV scare, Rand Paul talking points, and a (maybe) proposition.

From The Daily Beast

The lack of love likely stems from DeMaio's silence on Proposition 8.

From The Daily Beast

Indeed, turning all doctors into employees is quite a dangerous proposition.

From The Daily Beast

Now the trouble with the main proposition just quoted is that each side of the equation is used as the measure of the other.

From Project Gutenberg

I will not, therefore, say that the proposition that the value of everything equals the cost of production is false.

From Project Gutenberg

If one could languish through life in the shell of a mere beauty that life would be a good deal simpler proposition than it is.

From Project Gutenberg

But in reality this paradox of value is the most fundamental proposition in economic science.

From Project Gutenberg

When Michael got thus far in his proposition, it was not very difficult to work it to the end.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accost