supposition
Americannoun
-
the act of supposing
-
a fact, theory, etc, that is supposed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of supposition
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin suppositiōn- (stem of suppositiō ) “substitution” ( English meaning by association with suppose ), equivalent to supposit(us) (past participle of suppōnere “to substitute”) + -iōn- stem of noun suffix -io; see origin at -ion, sup-, position
Explanation
A supposition is a guess or a hypothesis. Your supposition that your kids will automatically wash their hands before dinner is probably false. You'd best remind them to do it or risk dirty hands at dinner. What's the difference between an assumption and a supposition — both nouns that are often taken as synonyms for each other? An assumption is an idea or theory that is usually made without proof. A supposition, on the other hand, has the connotation that the idea or theory is testable and provable. If you are to meet someone named Hunter, you may make the assumption that you are meeting a man. But if you know that Hunter lives in an all-female dorm, you may have the supposition that Hunter is a woman.
Vocabulary lists containing supposition
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"The Declaration of Sentiments" (1848)
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"The Pit and the Pendulum," Vocabulary from the short story
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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.
Supposition was his guide: he said that he had never actually read anything about Native American cuisine.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 22, 2016
Supposition: A pilot would maneuver it like any glider, to considerable distance if he chose.
From Time Magazine Archive
Supposition is that the selenium atoms acted as reflectors of x-rays, thus giving cancer cells a double bombardment of direct and indirect rays.
From Time Magazine Archive
In 1918, Fisher published his analysis in a paper entitled “The Correlation between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance.”
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
"Common Supposition is a greater fool than I wish it were."
From Sevenoaks by Holland, J. G. (Josiah Gilbert)
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.
