assumed
Americanadjective
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adopted in order to deceive; fictitious; pretended; feigned.
an assumed name; an assumed air of humility.
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taken for granted; supposed.
His assumed innocence proved untrue.
adjective
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false; fictitious
an assumed name
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taken for granted
an assumed result
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usurped; arrogated
an assumed authority
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of assumed
Explanation
When something is described as assumed, it's fake. An assumed name is made up, often to hide a true identity. If you're living under an assumed name, you've taken on a new, fictitious name to disguise yourself or simply to start over as a new person — to give yourself an assumed identity. An assumed facial expression is false, and an assumed address isn't your real one. The adjective assumed comes from the meaning of assume that's "take on or adopt, often falsely," from the Latin assumere, "to take up."
Vocabulary lists containing assumed
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.
Annie Linskey is a White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal, a role she assumed in 2022 after covering national politics for the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and Bloomberg News.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
"I never questioned his intentions. I was naive and assumed someone in his position would act with integrity, so I would send money whenever I was asked," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Etching chips with DUV "is slower, lower-yield and more expensive than EUV production, but it is proving sufficient for near-frontier chips, unsettling policymakers and investors who had assumed China faced tighter constraints".
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Only the real joke, it seems, is that Judith assumed her mission-completion rate and dedication were enough to maintain the respect of Sam and their boss, played by Bill Nighy.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
I assumed that was why the officer had shown up—to find out why I was absent.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
