presumptuous

pre·sump·tu·ous

adjective \pri-ˈzəm(p)-chə-wəs, -chəs, -shəs\

Definition of PRESUMPTUOUS

: overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy) : taking liberties

— pre·sump·tu·ous·ly adverb

— pre·sump·tu·ous·ness noun

Examples of PRESUMPTUOUS

1. <it's a little presumptuous of you to assume that I'm your new best friend just because I invited you along>
2. <the presumptuous doctor didn't even bother to explain to me the treatment that I would be receiving>
3. To Yale University, he was David Sneed. And some people called him that. Close friends called him Marc. Not wanting to appear presumptuous, I tried not to commit to either, waiting instead for a signal. —Peter Beinart, New Republic, 22 Jan. 1996
4. Professor Stegner mistook me, I fear, for an anti-intellectual, not understanding that I was in fact something far less presumptuous—a near-illiterate, especially compared to the rest of his blue-chip roster. —Ken Kesey, New York Times Book Review, 31 Dec. 1989
5. To spy out the shape of God's Heaven was superfluous, presumptuous, and might prove blasphemous. Galileo was no better than a theological Peeping Tom. —Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers, 1983

Origin of PRESUMPTUOUS

Middle English, from Anglo-French presumptious, from Late Latin praesumptuosus, irregular from praesumptio (see presume)

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to PRESUMPTUOUS

Synonyms

bold, familiar, forward, free, immodest, overfamiliar, presuming

Antonyms

modest, unassuming

Related Words

arrogant, bumptious, complacent, conceited, egoistic (also egoistical), egomaniacal, egotistic (or egotistical), highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-hat, hoity-toity, important, overweening, pompous, prideful, proud, self-asserting, self-assertive, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-important, self-satisfied, smug, uppity, vain, vainglorious; cavalier, disdainful, haughty, lordly, pretentious, snobbish, stuck-up, supercilious, superior; audacious, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, cheeky, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, overbold, pert, sassy, saucy; confident, self-assured, self-confident, sure; boastful, braggart, bragging; domineering, high-handed, imperious; self-absorbed, self-centered, self-concerned, self-engrossed, self-infatuated, self-interested, self-involved, selfish, self-obsessed, self-seeking

Near Antonyms

demure, down-to-earth, humble, lowly, meek, unassertive, unpretentious; bashful, mousy (or mousey), retiring, shy, timid, timorous; diffident, self-doubting