assume

1 to take to or upon oneself we promised to assume responsibility for any damage to the flower beds caused by the volleyball game in the backyard Synonyms accept, bear, shoulder, take over, undertake Related Words adopt, embrace, take up; advocate, back, champion, endorse (also indorse), espouse, stand by, support, uphold; accede, acquiesce, agree, assent, consent; reaccept, reassume Near Antonyms abjure, recant, renounce, retract, take back, unsay, withdraw; decline, refuse, reject, spurn, turn down; abstain (from), forbear, refrain (from); avoid, bypass, detour; abandon, abnegate, forsake, give up, relinquish, spurn, surrender; back down, back off, backtrack Antonyms disavow, disclaim, disown, repudiate

2 to take as true or as a fact without actual proof everyone assumed, wrongly, that someone else was bringing dessert Synonyms hypothecate, hypothesize, postulate, premise, presume, presuppose, say, suppose Related Words accept, believe, credit, swallow; conclude, deduce, gather, infer, judge, take; conjecture, figure, guess, reckon [chiefly dialect], surmise, suspect, suspicion [chiefly dialect], think; conceive, dream, fancy, imagine, perceive, preconceive; speculate, theorize; affirm, allege, assert, aver, avouch, avow, claim, contend, declare, insist, maintain, profess Phrases take for granted Near Antonyms challenge, controvert, disagree (with), disbelieve, discount, discredit, dispute, distrust, doubt, mistrust, question, wonder (about); deny, disavow, disclaim, disown, reject, repudiate; belie, confute, disprove, rebut, refute

3 to form an opinion from little or no evidence as I just assumed it was too late to go out, I didn't think to ask Synonyms guess, conjecture, daresay, imagine, presume, speculate, suppose, surmise, suspect, suspicion [chiefly dialect]Related Words conclude, deduce, gather, infer; hypothecate, hypothesize, theorize; believe, conceive, expect, judge, reckon [chiefly dialect], take, thinkNear Antonyms demonstrate, document, establish, prove, substantiate, validate; ascertain, determine, find out, learn

4 to present a false appearance of she assumed an air of nonchalance even though she was wildly ecstatic she was going on the date Synonyms act, affect, feign, bluff, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, pass (for), pretend, profess, put on, sham, simulateRelated Words dissimulate, impersonate, let on, masquerade, play, playact, pose; forge, imitate; camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask; feint; malinger

5 to provide with a paying job assumed as partner by the prestigious law firm Synonyms employ, engage, fee [chiefly Scottish], hire, lay on [chiefly British], pay, place, recruit, retain, sign (up or on), take onRelated Words reemploy, reengage, rehire; apprentice, contract, job, partner, subcontract; enlist; advance, promote, upgrade; keep (on); headhunt, scoutNear Antonyms furlough, lay off, lock outAntonyms ax (or axe), can, discharge, dismiss, fire, sack