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assume definition

as·sume (ə so̵̅o̅m, -syo̵̅o̅m)

transitive verb assumed -·sumed′, assuming -·sum′·ing

  1. to take on or put on (the appearance, form, role, etc. of)
  2. to seize; usurp to assume control
  3. to take upon oneself; undertake to assume an obligation
  4. to take for granted; suppose (something) to be a fact
  5. to pretend to have; feign to assume an air of innocence
  6. Archaic
    1. to take in or receive
    2. to take into association

Etymology: ME assumen < L assumere, to take up, claim < ad-, to + sumere, to take: see consume

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

assume Synonyms

assume

v.

  1. To take for granted

    suppose, presume, postulate, posit, presuppose, predicate, premise, take for granted, understand, gather, find, collect, theorize, ascertain, consider as true, draw the inference, judge, divine, get the idea, have an idea that, suspect, regard, consider, imply, hypothesize, guess, take without proof, treat as conceded, take it as given, conjecture, suppose as fact, deem, imagine, surmise, opine, estimate, speculate, fancy, take the liberty, be of the opinion, dare say, deduce, count upon, infer, conclude, put two and two together, be inclined to think, hold the opinion, think, calculate, hope, feel, believe, have faith, be afraid*, take it*, expect*, allow*, reckon*. *

    Antonyms doubt*, be surprised that, know. *

  2. To pretend

    feign, put on, affect; see pretend 1.

  3. To take

    seize, appropriate, arrogate; see seize 2.

assume implies the supposition of something as the basis for argument or action let us assume her motives were good; presume implies the taking of something for granted or accepting it as true, usually on the basis of probable evidence in its favor and the absence of proof to the contrary the prisoner is presumed to be of sound mind; presuppose may imply taking something for granted without necessarily having good reason this writer presupposes an extensive vocabulary in children or, in another sense, may imply that something is required as a preceding condition brilliant technique in piano playing presupposes years of practice; postulate implies the assumption of something as an underlying factor, often one that is incapable of proof his argument postulates the inherent goodness of humanity; premise implies the setting forth of a proposition on which a conclusion can be based See also syn. study at pretend.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

assume Usage Examples

Object

  • responsibility: In your absence we will assume complete responsibility for your property.

Preposition: that

  • reader: Chapter two is headed " Turning " but pleasingly enough Chris assumes that the reader has grasped the basics of Turning.

Modifying Another Word

  • wrongly: Some people miss out on benefits because they wrongly assume they cannot claim anything when they are working.

Used with why or when

  • that: Don't assume that means I rejected your changes.

Infinitive complement

  • refer: URLs not ending in ' / ' are assumed to refer to JAR files.

Preposition: for

  • simplicity: This is because we assumed for simplicity that water and glass have identical coefficients of refraction.

Preposition: by

  • default: Previously an ASCII encoding was usually assumed by default.
assume usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

assume quotes

I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For everyatom belonging to me asgood belongs to you.

-Whitman,Walt(er)

assume quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"assume." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/assume>

APA Style

assume. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/assume

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