posit

verb

pos·​it ˈpä-zət How to pronounce posit (audio)
posited ˈpä-zə-təd How to pronounce posit (audio)
ˈpäz-təd
; positing ˈpä-zə-tiŋ How to pronounce posit (audio)
ˈpäz-tiŋ

transitive verb

1
: to dispose or set firmly : fix
2
: to assume or affirm the existence of : postulate
3
: to propose as an explanation : suggest

Examples of posit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web While some theories were posited in jest, others appeared to be shared in earnest. Kimi Robinson, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2024 On Thursday, however, Singh posited that if the baby did, indeed, die of a drug overdose, her mother may be to blame. Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024 Schultz, however, posits that fame can be a bit of an addiction in itself. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2024 Some posit the nerveless current to be less than parklike. Jay Pilgreen, Kansas City Star, 12 Feb. 2024 Another argument might posit that China doesn’t need to feel existentially threatened enough by a slowing economy to take a high-risk bet on war. Mary Hui, Quartz, 7 Feb. 2024 The researchers posited that these correlations could be an evolutionary explanation for why bisexual alleles and behavior persist in the human population. Lauren Leffer, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2024 Her Hunger Games, her Dune, her The Cell (again), her Dr. Strange (the 2016 original), her Color Purple (the musical, 1997 version), and also, somehow, her Anaconda In the film’s trailer, Lopez posits herself as the villain. Vulture, 31 Jan. 2024 The upcoming album is posited as the final entry in the long-running story that began on the group’s 2015 breakthrough Blurryface album, and then continued on 2018’s Trench and 2021’s Scaled and Icy. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'posit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin positus, past participle of ponere

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of posit was in 1647

Dictionary Entries Near posit

Cite this Entry

“Posit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/posit. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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