assume

American  

[uh-soom] / əˈsum /

verb (used with object)

• assumes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• assumed,
  past participle,  past
• assuming
  present participle

1. to take for granted or without proof.

   to assume that everyone wants peace.

   Synonyms:

   posit, postulate, presuppose, suppose

2. to take upon oneself; undertake.

   to assume an obligation.

3. to take over the duties or responsibilities of.

   to assume the office of treasurer.

4. to take on (a particular character, quality, mode of life, etc.); adopt.

   He assumed the style of an aggressive go-getter.

5. to take on; be invested or endowed with.

   The situation assumed a threatening character.

6. to pretend to have or be; feign.

   to assume a humble manner.

7. to appropriate or arrogate; seize; usurp.

   to assume a right to oneself; to assume control.

8. to take upon oneself (the debts or obligations of another).

9. Archaic. to take into relation or association; adopt.

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verb (used without object)

• assumes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• assumed,
  past participle,  past
• assuming
  present participle

1. to take something for granted; presume.

assume British  

/ əˈsjuːm /

verb

1. (may take a clause as object) to take for granted; accept without proof; suppose

   to assume that someone is sane

2. to take upon oneself; undertake or take on or over (a position, responsibility, etc)

   to assume office

3. to pretend to; feign

   he assumed indifference, although the news affected him deeply

4. to take or put on; adopt

   the problem assumed gigantic proportions

5. to appropriate or usurp (power, control, etc); arrogate

   the revolutionaries assumed control of the city

6. Christianity (of God) to take up (the soul of a believer) into heaven

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Usage

What's the difference between assume and presume? Assume and presume have very similar meanings—they both mean to suppose that something is true without being able to confirm it. Assume, however, usually implies that the conclusion reached by the person doing the assuming is not based on much. Presume, on the other hand, often implies that the conclusion is based on something a bit stronger, such as some evidence or past situations in which the same thing happened. For example, you might presume that someone will be attending a meeting because they always attend and you have no reason to think they won’t be there. The word assume could also be used in this scenario, but it’s most likely to be used in situations in which there was less of a reason to have come to a certain conclusion. For example, you might assume something about someone you’ve just met based only on how they look (which is never a good idea). A good way to remember this difference in how the two words are used is that the prefix pre- in presume means “before”—when you presume things, you’re often basing that presumption on something that has happened before. As for assume, well, we’ll just assume you know a good way of remembering how it’s used. Assume and presume also have a few meanings that don’t overlap. Assume can mean to take on, adopt, or be endowed with something, as in I don’t want to assume any new responsibilities. Presume can mean to undertake or do something without permission or justification, as in I don’t presume to speak for the entire class. Here are examples of assume and presume used correctly in a sentence. Example: I assumed you knew what you were doing when you volunteered to bake the cake, but apparently I shouldn’t have. Example: I presumed, based on your resume, that you knew how to work with this software. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between assume and presume.

Synonym Usage

See pretend.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• assumer
  noun
• overassume
  verb (used with object)
• preassume
  verb (used with object)
• reassume
  verb (used with object)
• assumable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• assuming
  present
• assumed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• assume
  simple
• assumes
  simple
• have assumed
  perfect
• has assumed
  perfect
• am assuming
  progressive
• are assuming
  progressive
• is assuming
  progressive
• have been assuming
  perfect progressive
• has been assuming
  perfect progressive

Past

• assumed
  simple
• had assumed
  perfect
• was assuming
  progressive
• were assuming
  progressive
• had been assuming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will assume
  simple
• will have assumed
  perfect
• will be assuming
  progressive
• will have been assuming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of assume

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (from Anglo-French assumer ), from Latin assūmere “to take to, adopt,” equivalent to as- “toward” + sūmere “to take up”; see as-, consume

Explanation

Assume isn't only used to mean "accept as truth without checking"; it also means "take on the form of." It might be safer if you don't assume that the vampire standing in front of you isn't merely a person assuming that form. Assume always has the sense of taking on something. It may be the belief in the appearance of truth: Your mother probably assumes you do your homework right after school. It may be another form or identity: Superman assumes the identity of a city reporter. Or, it might be a physical space: If you get nervous while driving, your dad might assume control of the car.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

assume assumes assumed assuming

We can safely assume that the Colombian superstar selected the cuts herself — the perfect tropicoqueta mix to set up the mood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

“People assume the advisers are working for them all the time,” Garrett says, but the reality is that it’s more like four hours a year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

"When we see something very red in the universe, we often assume that it is surrounded by dust, like soot or ash," Simcoe explains.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

Ros's tip for others is don't assume that a subscription will automatically cancel just because you can't find it on your account.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

I’m about to complement her shirt, when the girl I assume is Emma crosses her arms and raises one eyebrow.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

“I’m a regular person, like you,” Hal says, gazing directly through the fourth wall at the tiny people he assumes are worshipping him from afar.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Morgan Stanley assumes roughly A$1.8 billion in growth capital expenditure will be needed for the project.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Some analysts say Chinese tech valuations are, if anything, more stretched than Korea’s, resting on a domestic-substitution story that assumes China’s champions deserve to trade like Nvidia’s ecosystem without Nvidia’s numbers behind them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Brian Schwartz and Idan Gutkind at Oppenheimer said that while the company’s cloud backlog continues to show growth, guidance risk is also increasing, as SAP currently assumes de-escalation in Iran.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Charley, a scholarship student at a fancy school, and she assumes she’s talking to his rich classmates.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

For decades, scientists generally assumed that fossilization destroyed the original organic molecules once present in bones, teeth, and other tissues.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Every student is issued a MacBook Pro, iPad and Apple Pencil, making cutting-edge technology an assumed component of the educational experience rather than a personal purchasing decision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

She says she couldn't find the subscription anywhere on her account so assumed that they had automatically ended and removed it.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Cal Fire assumed command of the incident from the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

“I just assumed this place was named South of Somewhere,” I say.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

"The results at some were literally off the scale and will have a big impact in professional circles, assuming they cannot continue to try to ignore them now," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Living in a free society requires us to begin by assuming that parents act in their children’s best interests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Make sure you know when each Roth was established before assuming every withdrawal will be completely tax-free.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

I’m assuming neither do you, and neither does anyone posting about it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The jalousies have all been closed, and the men are spread around the room as if assuming lookout posts.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Related Words

• accept
• conclude
• consider
• estimate
• expect
• guess
• infer
• presume
• speculate
• suspect
• think
• understand