posit

verb

pos·it | \ ˈpä-zət

posited\ ˈpä-zə-təd

, ˈpäz-təd \; positing\ ˈpä-zə-tiŋ

, ˈpäz-tiŋ \

Definition of posit

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

This legal doctrine posits that, if the government already knows the testimony that will be obtained, then the Fifth Amendment cannot be a shield. — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, "Court: Teen’s driving killed someone, but he can’t be forced to give up passcode," 28 Oct. 2018 In 2007, the World Health Organization posited that 33 percent of people in the world who have penises and are 15 and over are circumcised. — Zahra Barnes, SELF, "11 Things Everyone Should Know About Uncircumcised Penises," 29 Dec. 2018 Since positing it, the sweet video has over 400,000 views and more than 6,000 comments (it's only been two days!). — Michelle Manetti, Good Housekeeping, "Tori Roloff's New Video of Jackson Has 'Little People, Big World' Fans Freaking Out," 5 Nov. 2018 Even if limited, the expansion is a necessary step forward for SoundCloud, which has always posited itself as a creators-first outlet. — Dani Deahl, The Verge, "Here’s how indie artists will make money with SoundCloud Premier," 9 Oct. 2018 The Law of Attraction,’’ which posits that people can bring positive or negative experiences into their life by virtue of positive or negative thoughts. — Larry Stone, The Seattle Times, "‘Young-guy’ Seahawks need Doug Baldwin on, off field as he battles mysterious knee injury," 28 Aug. 2018 While Homer never spoke about his photography, art historians posit that the medium made an important impact on his later artwork. — Julissa Treviño, Smithsonian, "Exhibition to Bring Winslow Homer’s Long-Lost Camera—and Photography—Into Focus," 1 May 2018 During the theory’s heyday, proponents posited multiple possible mechanisms for the expanding Earth. — Meg Neal, Popular Mechanics, "We’ve Been Wrong Before: The Expanding Earth Theory," 3 Aug. 2018 But Jow's mention of Cho led me to an equally intriguing theory for why Trump chose this hotel — one that several guests posited to me as well. — Benjamin Oreskes, latimes.com, "What drew Trump to downtown L.A.'s towering InterContinental hotel?," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'posit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.