assume
Americanverb (used with object)
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assumes,
present (3rd person singular)
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assumed,
past participle, past
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assuming
present participle
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to take for granted or without proof.
to assume that everyone wants peace.
- Synonyms:
- posit, postulate, presuppose, suppose
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to take upon oneself; undertake.
to assume an obligation.
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to take over the duties or responsibilities of.
to assume the office of treasurer.
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to take on (a particular character, quality, mode of life, etc.); adopt.
He assumed the style of an aggressive go-getter.
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to take on; be invested or endowed with.
The situation assumed a threatening character.
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to pretend to have or be; feign.
to assume a humble manner.
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to appropriate or arrogate; seize; usurp.
to assume a right to oneself; to assume control.
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to take upon oneself (the debts or obligations of another).
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Archaic. to take into relation or association; adopt.
verb (used without object)
-
assumes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
assumed,
past participle, past
-
assuming
present participle
verb
-
(may take a clause as object) to take for granted; accept without proof; suppose
to assume that someone is sane
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to take upon oneself; undertake or take on or over (a position, responsibility, etc)
to assume office
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to pretend to; feign
he assumed indifference, although the news affected him deeply
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to take or put on; adopt
the problem assumed gigantic proportions
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to appropriate or usurp (power, control, etc); arrogate
the revolutionaries assumed control of the city
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Christianity (of God) to take up (the soul of a believer) into heaven
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
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assumernoun
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overassumeverb (used with object)
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preassumeverb (used with object)
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reassumeverb (used with object)
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assumableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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assumesimple
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assumessimple
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have assumedperfect
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has assumedperfect
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am assumingprogressive
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are assumingprogressive
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is assumingprogressive
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have been assumingperfect progressive
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has been assumingperfect progressive
Past
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assumedsimple
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had assumedperfect
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was assumingprogressive
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were assumingprogressive
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had been assumingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing assume
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 1-10
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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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:
One could assume the creator of the Charlie Sheen–led show has a penchant for beachfront property in that area, as he dropped $8 million on a 1,400-square-foot Malibu home in 2011.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
Tommy refused to be upfront about why he would assume El-Sayed, of all people, would support them to begin with.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
So raise your hand if you know — or even just assume — elections officials have been doing something with those ballots as they arrive, other than just throwing them in a pile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
"We can't assume from one melanoma trial that the same approach will work across all cancers, and longer follow-up will be important to understand the effect on overall survival."
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
It’s funny how adults do this—they assume that just because two people are close to the same age, they’ll have something in common.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Another issue is that the market assumes Marvell is going to have to pay a large premium to buy Lumentum, Seaport analyst Jay Goldberg told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Your lender will approve you for a number that assumes nothing else in your life costs money.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Another scenario assumes AI lives up to its promises but the build-out runs into supply snafus as chip makers and others struggle to keep up with runaway demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
He assumes both will keep their current age-specific fertility and mortality rates and net immigration of zero.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Poppet and Widget seem to get along much better than he and Caroline ever have, and he assumes it is because they are closer to the same age.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Despite oxygen's abundance, scientists have traditionally assumed that magma can contain only a specific amount of it.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
We assumed that our journey would be the same, that this house would be the first of many we’d attempt, and then fail, to acquire.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
He assumed his baseball days were long gone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Considering how strong the price gains have appeared, and given that they are backed by actual supply constraints, it may seem premature to say sellers appear to have assumed control.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
I assumed that the A meant Antler, and a thrill ran through me.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
This is not out of character; his habit is to prematurely declare victory in everything, apparently assuming that the force of his declaration makes it a reality.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026
Defying market expectations, Moody’s Ratings kept France’s credit rating unchanged at Aa3, assuming France successfully adopts a deficit-reducing budget for 2027, leaving the outlook negative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Consumers should always look carefully at the terms and conditions of an annuity before assuming it’s a good deal.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
His work focuses on adapting medical care to the characteristics of individual patients instead of assuming that everyone will respond to the same treatment.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
He was not alone in assuming that the progress of science destroyed superstitious beliefs.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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