Assumption
[ə'sʌm(p)ʃ(ə)n] or [ə'sʌmpʃən]
Definition
(noun.) the act of taking possession of or power over something; 'his assumption of office coincided with the trouble in Cuba'; 'the Nazi assumption of power in 1934'; 'he acquired all the company's assets for ten million dollars and the assumption of the company's debts'.
(noun.) the act of assuming or taking for granted; 'your assumption that I would agree was unwarranted'.
(noun.) a hypothesis that is taken for granted; 'any society is built upon certain assumptions'.
(noun.) (Christianity) the taking up of the body and soul of the Virgin Mary when her earthly life had ended.
(noun.) celebration in the Roman Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary's being taken up into heaven when her earthly life ended; corresponds to the Dormition in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Checked by Cindy--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The act of assuming, or taking to or upon one's self; the act of taking up or adopting.
(n.) The act of taking for granted, or supposing a thing without proof; supposition; unwarrantable claim.
(n.) The thing supposed; a postulate, or proposition assumed; a supposition.
(n.) The minor or second proposition in a categorical syllogism.
(n.) The taking of a person up into heaven.
(n.) A festival in honor of the ascent of the Virgin Mary into heaven.
Edited by Lilian
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Assuming, arrogating, usurpation.[2]. Presumption, supposition, conjecture, hypothesis, postulate, theory.[3]. Haughtiness, loftiness, superciliousness, lordliness, stateliness, conceit, pride, conceitedness, self-conceit, self-importance, vain-glory, arrogance, insolence, HAUTEUR.
Editor: Myra
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Arrogance, boldness, impudence, self-confidence, selfreliance, effrontery,presumption, conviction, certainty, self-assertion
ANT:Distrust, timidity, bashfulness, misgiving, self-distrust, consternation,dismay, alarm
Inputed by Lawrence
Definition
n. act of assuming: a supposition: the thing supposed a proposition: (logic) the minor premise in a syllogism.—Assumption of the Virgin a church festival kept on the 15th of August based on the notion that after the death of Mary her soul and body were preserved from corruption and taken up to heaven by Christ and His angels.—Deed of assumption (Scots law) a deed executed by trustees under a trust-deed assuming a new trustee or settlement.
Edited by Lilian
Examples
- In spite of his resolute assumption of composure, he was getting anxious for the agent's arrival. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Hence the supposed extermination of so many species having similar habits with the rock-pigeon seems a very rash assumption. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The ephemeral nature of the vast majority of hypotheses and the dange r to progress of accepting an unverified assumption justify the demand for demonstrative e vidence. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- He saw the yellow flare in her eyes, he knew the unthinkable overweening assumption of primacy in her. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The episode is, by assumption, past. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Now for our assumption. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- It filled him with almost insane fury, this calm assumption of the Magna Mater, that all was hers, because she had borne it. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Despite that pernicious assumption of lassitude and indifference, which had become his second nature, he was strongly attached to his friend. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- It was the Feast of the Assumption; no school was held. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- On the other hand, the ordinary belief that the amount of possible variation is a strictly limited quantity, is likewise a simple assumption. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Well, then, I hope to make the discovery in this way: I mean to begin with the assumption that our State, if rightly ordered, is perfect. Plato. The Republic.
- So he wobbled upon a tacit assumption of social standing. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The validity of this assumption was finally established by spectrum analysis. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- But I am as much puzzled to account for his sudden assumption of drunkenness as Gooseberry himself. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- This was an assumption of a sort of intimacy that irritated Gudrun almost like an affront. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He was forced by the logic of his assumptions to attempt the complete eradication of a system that flatly denied them. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He stood against assumptions, and insisted on rigid proof. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Adams started with the assumptions, not im probable, that the orbit of the unknown planet was a circle, and that its distance from the sun was tw ice that of Uranus. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- They rest nearly always upon theoretical assumptions of the slenderest kind. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Perhaps uncriticised assumptions have obscured the real uses of politics. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- We then proceeded to an analysis of the various assumptions underlying this segregation. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- We cannot expect to meet our problems with a few inherited ideas, uncriticised assumptions, a foggy vocabulary, and a machine philosophy. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- There are, I hope, no assumptions put forward as dogmas. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- This omniscience of the human intellect is one of the commonest assumptions in the world. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- If these work out with moderate satisfactoriness, we are content to suppose that our assumptions have been confirmed. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
Edited by Estelle