proposition
Americannoun
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propositions
plural
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the act of offering or suggesting something to be considered, accepted, adopted, or done.
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a plan or scheme proposed.
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an offer of terms for a transaction, as in business.
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a thing, matter, or person considered as something to be dealt with or encountered.
Keeping diplomatic channels open is a serious proposition.
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anything stated or affirmed for discussion or illustration.
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Rhetoric. a statement of the subject of an argument or a discourse, or of the course of action or essential idea to be advocated.
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Logic. a statement in which something is affirmed or denied, so that it can therefore be significantly characterized as either true or false.
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Mathematics. a formal statement of either a truth to be demonstrated or an operation to be performed; a theorem or a problem.
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a proposal of usually illicit sexual relations.
verb (used with object)
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propositions,
present (3rd person singular)
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propositioned,
past participle, past
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propositioning
present participle
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to propose sexual relations to.
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to propose a plan, deal, etc., to.
noun
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a proposal or topic presented for consideration
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philosophy
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the content of a sentence that affirms or denies something and is capable of being true or false
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the meaning of such a sentence: I am warm always expresses the same proposition whoever the speaker is Compare statement
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maths a statement or theorem, usually containing its proof
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informal a person or matter to be dealt with
he's a difficult proposition
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an invitation to engage in sexual intercourse
verb
Synonym Usage
See proposal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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propositionsimple
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propositionssimple
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have propositionedperfect
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has propositionedperfect
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am propositioningprogressive
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are propositioningprogressive
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is propositioningprogressive
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have been propositioningperfect progressive
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has been propositioningperfect progressive
Past
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propositionedsimple
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had propositionedperfect
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was propositioningprogressive
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were propositioningprogressive
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had been propositioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of proposition
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English proposicio(u)n, from Latin prōpositiōn- (stem of prōpositiō ) “a setting forth.” See propositus, -ion
Explanation
A proposition is a proposed plan of action, a detailed suggestion. You might consider your friend's suggestion to set up a neighborhood snow-shoveling business after the blizzard a winning proposition. The noun proposition means something presented for consideration. In some contexts, that something being offered is sexual. Therefore, don't use the term proposition loosely. If you say that you made a proposition to your teacher, people could misinterpret you. It's safer to stick with suggestion.
Vocabulary lists containing proposition
Power Prefix: pro
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Overall, “the underlying value proposition of Anthropic is still very strong,” Martin said, adding that demand remains high for the company on the private market.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
The Cardinals coaching staff is a wait-and-see proposition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
But as he told us, “the value proposition to people is similar, which is like, you have a problem, you can show up.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The radical proposition is not that Girl Scouts tells girls what to think.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
Some scientists who are willing to concede the potent effect of environmental radiation on man nevertheless question whether mutagenic chemicals can, as a practical proposition, have the same effect.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
"Cyc validated that much of the knowledge that makes people experts cannot be articulated as propositions."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Big attractions are very expensive propositions for parks to put in, and parks like Fiesta Village can’t keep up with that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
The Declaration isn’t a set of propositions in political science issued by an academic committee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
It’s choosing people who only allocate capital to losing propositions.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Long propositions that didn’t seem to want to go much of anywhere and that were taking their time not wanting to go there.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
Tennessee propositioned Paramount Skydance, hoping to tempt it to become the next company to leave California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
During the trial against her husband and his half-brother, Carolyn Bryant took the stand and testified that Till had grabbed her hand and propositioned her.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2025
Anyone with a cellphone has been propositioned at least once by this type of arrangement: the recruiter with a great offer to earn extra money, and with very little required of you.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2025
Before Patrick is propositioned to take Kat out, he is portrayed as scary, lonely and unapproachable.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2024
During his on-court interview, the second-seeded Italian was propositioned from someone in the crowd.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 18, 2022
“It was everything from people propositioning me to, ‘You’ve ruined my childhood.’”
From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2021
But when Bobbie takes advantage of Jamie’s jitters to suggest that he marry her instead of Paul, she doesn’t seem needy or wolfish, as Bobby did when propositioning Amy; she seems foolish and disrespectful.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2021
The company investigated and found that Matthews’s conduct was inappropriate and offensive, though it concluded that he wasn’t propositioning the woman, according to reports from the Daily Caller eventually confirmed by the network.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2020
In 1975, Fisher made a brief but memorable film debut propositioning Warren Beatty in the satire Shampoo, before landing her big break on Star Wars, where she sported a hairstyle she described as “hairy earphones”.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 27, 2016
She observes protocol with a pratfall, practices diplomacy by outright propositioning.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
