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When you postulate an idea or theory you suggest that it is true especially for the purposes of an argument or discussion. The word is mostly at home in formal and academic contexts, but don’t let that stop you from postulating, for example, that takeout for dinner makes sense given the cook’s delayed return home from work. The word postulate also functions as a noun referring to something that’s been postulated, as in “a theory based on disputed postulates.” Both verb and noun have their source in Latin postulare, meaning "to assume."
Synonyms
Examples of postulate in a Sentence
Charles Helm, Discover Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023
Wiener had first postulated that biological signals could be used to control a prosthesis in the early 1950s, but research in this area did not flourish in the United States.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2023
Axioms, postulates, theorems, and proofs bored me into senselessness.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Oct. 2022
The forensic technique postulates that machines used to make guns leave tiny imperfections on their components, and that those components imprint unique marks on ammunition — composed of softer metal — when fired.
—Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 21 June 2023
At trial, prosecutors postulated that Syed, a popular honors student at Woodlawn High School, couldn’t take it when Lee broke up with him.
—Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 28 June 2023
Some historians have postulated that the monster could have been a Mediterranean monk seal.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 2 June 2023
None of this would be news, Macfarlane notes, to indigenous peoples, whose animistic traditions postulate a symbiotic relationship with their jungle or woodland environs.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 4 May 2023
The pathway from a hairspray can to global ozone depletion—however counter-intuitive at first glance—was direct, unambiguous, and relatively easy to demonstrate once postulated and recognized.
—IEEE Spectrum, 9 Apr. 2012
Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 19 Apr. 2023
That respect is a core postulate of most Americans’ vision of how their government should function and of their expectation that justices try in good faith to meet that standard.
—Simon Lazarus, The New Republic, 27 Sep. 2022
Modern philosophers such as Nick Bostrom postulate that our cosmos is probably a simulation, a virtual reality created by the alien equivalent of a bored teenage hacker.
—John Horgan, Scientific American, 14 June 2022
Taleb goes a step further, offering a mathematical postulate.
—Steven Zeitchik, Washington Post, 3 June 2022
That’s the main postulate of the supremely interesting and information-filled 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), released earlier this week by Startup Genome with the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN).
—Dane Stangler, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2021
Belief in this postulate is evident at universities across the country, with many adopting protocols to ensure a safe, on-campus experience this fall.
—Blake D. Morant, Forbes, 20 May 2021
But this isn’t necessarily so, and it’s the fifth postulate’s fault.
—Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2021
If Euclid’s fifth postulate were true, then any two lines of longitude could never intersect.
—Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2021
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'postulate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
Latin postulatus, past participle of postulare; akin to Latin poscere to ask, Old High German forscōn to search, Sanskrit pṛcchati he asks — more at pray
Noun
Medieval Latin postulatum, from neuter of postulatus, past participle of postulare to assume, from Latin, to demand
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Cite this Entry
“Postulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postulate. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
postulate
1 of 2 verb
postulate
2 of 2 noun
Medical Definition
postulate
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on postulate
Nglish: Translation of postulate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of postulate for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about postulate
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