What does assume mean?

Definitions for assume
əˈsumas·sume

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word assume.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. assume, presume, take for grantedverb

    take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof

    "I assume his train was late"

  2. assume, adopt, take on, take oververb

    take on titles, offices, duties, responsibilities

    "When will the new President assume office?"

  3. assume, acquire, adopt, take on, takeverb

    take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect

    "His voice took on a sad tone"; "The story took a new turn"; "he adopted an air of superiority"; "She assumed strange manners"; "The gods assume human or animal form in these fables"

  4. bear, take over, accept, assumeverb

    take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person

    "I'll accept the charges"; "She agreed to bear the responsibility"

  5. assume, take, strike, take upverb

    occupy or take on

    "He assumes the lotus position"; "She took her seat on the stage"; "We took our seats in the orchestra"; "She took up her position behind the tree"; "strike a pose"

  6. assume, usurp, seize, take over, arrogateverb

    seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession

    "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died"

  7. simulate, assume, sham, feignverb

    make a pretence of

    "She assumed indifference, even though she was seething with anger"; "he feigned sleep"

  8. assumeverb

    take up someone's soul into heaven

    "This is the day when May was assumed into heaven"

  9. wear, put on, get into, don, assumeverb

    put clothing on one's body

    "What should I wear today?"; "He put on his best suit for the wedding"; "The princess donned a long blue dress"; "The queen assumed the stately robes"; "He got into his jeans"

Wiktionary

  1. assumeverb

    To authenticate by means of belief; to surmise; to suppose to be true, especially without proof.

    We assume that, as her parents were dentists, she knows quite a bit about dentistry.

  2. assumeverb

    To take on a position or duty.

    Mr. Jones will assume the position of a lifeguard until a proper replacement is found.

  3. assumeverb

    To adopt an idea or cause.

  4. Etymology: From assumo, from ad- + sumo.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To ASSUMEverb

    Etymology: assumo, Lat.

    This when the various God had urg’d in vain,
    He strait assum’d his native form again. Alexander Pope.

    With ravish’d ears,
    The monarch hears,
    Assumes the God,
    Affects to nod,
    And seems to shake the spheres. John Dryden, St. Cæcilia.

    This makes him over-forward in business, assuming in conversation, and peremptory in answers. Jeremy Collier, of Confidence.

    In every hypothesis, something is allowed to be assumed. Boyle.

    His majesty might well assume the complaint and expression of king David. Edward Hyde, b. viii.

ChatGPT

  1. assume

    To assume means to accept something to be true without any proof or evidence, often as the basis for an argument or decision. It can also mean to take on or undertake a role, duty, or responsibility.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Assumeverb

    to take to or upon one's self; to take formally and demonstratively; sometimes, to appropriate or take unjustly

  2. Assumeverb

    to take for granted, or without proof; to suppose as a fact; to suppose or take arbitrarily or tentatively

  3. Assumeverb

    to pretend to possess; to take in appearance

  4. Assumeverb

    to receive or adopt

  5. Assumeverb

    to be arrogant or pretentious; to claim more than is due

  6. Assumeverb

    to undertake, as by a promise

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Assume

    as-sūm′, v.t. to adopt, take in: to take up, to take upon one's self: to take for granted: to arrogate: to pretend to possess.—v.i. to claim unduly: to be arrogant.—adjs. Assum′able, Assump′tive, that may be assumed.—adv. Assum′ably, presumably.—adj. Assumed′, appropriated, usurped: pretended: taken as the basis of argument.—advs. Assum′edly, Assum′ingly.—adj. Assum′ing, haughty: arrogant. [L. assumĕread, to, sumĕre, sumptum, to take.]

Suggested Resources

  1. Assume

    Assume vs. Presume -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Assume and Presume.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'assume' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2597

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'assume' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2008

  3. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'assume' in Verbs Frequency: #205

Anagrams for assume »

  1. amuses

  2. Seamus

How to pronounce assume?

How to say assume in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of assume in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of assume in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of assume in a Sentence

  1. Matthew Knight:

    We tend to assume that the physical processes we observe here, close to home, are universal, and we haven't yet seen anything like' Oumuamua in our solar system. This thing is weird and admittedly hard to explain, but that doesn't exclude other natural phenomena that could explain it.

  2. Grand Imam:

    With all these accomplishments [of the 21st century], how come peace has become a lost paradise? The answer, I assume, is that modern civilization has ignored religion.

  3. Nancy Pelosi:

    I would assume there would be public hearings in November.

  4. Anne Applebaum:

    We admired Silberman’s work because it is powered by a strongly argued set of beliefs: That we should stop drawing sharp lines between what we assume to be 'normal' and 'abnormal', and that we should remember how much the differently wired human brain has, can and will contribute to our world, he has injected a hopeful note into a conversation that's normally dominated by despair.

  5. James Shea:

    Director of Public Safety James Shea told reporters Friday. Based on what we know now, the amount of guns, the amount of ammunition, the fact that they had explosive devices -- we would have to assume they planned to do a lot more damage than we allowed them to do. THOUSANDS MOURN, ATTEND FUNERALS FOR Jersey City SHOOTING VICTIMS Police officers stand near the scene of a gun fight at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Thursday. Anderson and Graham appear to have acted alone even though they had expressed interest in the Black Hebrew Israelites, a fringe religious group that often disparages whites and Jews, New Jersey officials have said. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Thursday that the attack was driven by hatred of Jews and law enforcement and is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism. The evidence points toward acts of hate. I can confirm that were investigating this matter as potential acts of domestic terrorism fueled both by anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal added that social media posts, witness interviews and other evidence reflected the couples hatred of Jews and police. Orthodox Jewish men carry Moshe Deutsch's casket outside a Brooklyn synagogue following Moshe Deutsch funeral on Wednesday in New York. Moshe Deutsch was one of the victims killed in Tuesday's shooting in Jersey City, New Jersey CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP The attackers killed three people in the market, in addition to the police officer at a cemetery about a mile away, before dying in an hourslong gunbattle with police Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. Public Safety James Shea called Seals the ultimate detective or officer we would point to to tell young officers, This is how you should behave.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

assume#1#3354#10000

Translations for assume

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • يفترض, افترض, افترArabic
  • заемам, поемам, приемам, допускамBulgarian
  • domnívat se, předpokládat, nabrat, zaujmoutCzech
  • antage, formodeDanish
  • aufnehmen, annehmen, einnehmenGerman
  • υποθέτωGreek
  • supozi, akceptiEsperanto
  • dar por sentado, suponer, asumirSpanish
  • حدس زدن, فرض کردنPersian
  • olettaaFinnish
  • haldaFaroese
  • assumer, supposer, présupposer, prendre, adopter, présumerFrench
  • presupporre, assumere, ritenereItalian
  • 仮定する, 負う, 引き受けるJapanese
  • 가정Korean
  • assumeLatin
  • whakatupuMāori
  • innemen, veronderstellen, aannemenDutch
  • założyć, przyjąćPolish
  • assumir, presumir, pressupor, suporPortuguese
  • presupune, prepuneRomanian
  • принять, допустить, занимать, допускать, предполагать, занять, принимать, предположитьRussian
  • pretpostavitiSerbo-Croatian
  • predpokladaťSlovak
  • antaSwedish
  • கருதுவதுTamil
  • สมมติThai

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"assume." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/assume>.

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    a widespread outbreak of an infectious disease
    A appellative
    B extroversive
    C eminent
    D epidemic

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