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What does the scientific method assume?

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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

One said, “Whether we like this timeline or not, we must assume RSI is about to start.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

“We use the 37% bracket and assume a 3.8% Medicare/ACA surcharge,” Close said, when discussing taxable equivalent yields.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

“Nobody was cooler than Barry — the hair, the suits, the laugh, the cigar, a cologne that I assume somebody somewhere made just for him,” Van Pelt said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

"So we can assume that he assessed Ju Ae as having the greatest potential to become his successor," he added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Instead, assume the NTI is asking how you are and/or what you are doing.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Such a possibility would conflict with the standard model, which assumes that dark energy remains constant.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

But occasionally, snobs don’t have a choice, such as when they’re sitting in the dark of a movie theater, where the viewer assumes the role of the spectator.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

First, he assumes that they’re as gullible as he is—that, since he believes the compliments they shovel his way, they’ll believe his shovelings too.

From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2026

Kim Fustier, senior global oil and gas analyst at HSBC, said in a Tuesday note that her new base case now assumes that a U.S.-Iran understanding will emerge but be vulnerable to repeated breakdowns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Bottom line, nobody sees us and automatically assumes we’re up to no good.

From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone

The "Fed meeting sees the swaps market implying a 92% probability of a hike, with 50 basis points of cumulative tightening assumed by year-end", said Chris Weston at Pepperstone.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

Rangers were physically and creatively on top, but there's always a feeling that one goal needed to become two to halt Celtic's assumed purple patch, a response that never came.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

Since the medium’s earliest days, Madison Avenue assumed that in households well-off enough to afford television sets, daytime audiences were mostly women who influenced household spending.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

I assumed that a substantial speaking engagement involving preparation, travel, presentation and follow up materials was understood to be professional work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The banking system was insolvent, he assumed, and that implied some grave upheaval.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

MLB announced its 2027 schedule eight months before the start of next season, assuming next season starts on time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

That reflects the project’s strong internal rate of return of 15%, assuming oil prices average $65 over the long term.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Maslin says young people can be tempted to put off making a will, assuming it is something they will need later in life.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Some analysts have been sanguine about the risk, assuming that anticipated higher rates are already discounted by asset prices.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

So there you have it: Hamilton safely buried and assuming legendary proportions as a martyr; Burr slipping out of town, eventually headed toward bizarre adventures in the American West, but already consigned to political oblivion.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

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