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as in cavalier
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude the presumptuous doctor didn't even bother to explain to me the treatment that I would be receiving

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of presumptuous Any suggestion that the Eagles offense is just as formidable without Hurts is either hopeful or presumptuous. Brooks Kubena, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025 Many felt that the mother-in-law was indeed being presumptuous. Karen Fratti, People.com, 23 Mar. 2025 Maybe some person will be presumptuous enough to wonder aloud what might have influenced the plot of this book. Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2025 Stone sails through all this, seeing off the sneering disapproval of white America and the presumptuous demands of the Black Panthers with equal disdain, and for a time his band, the aptly named Sly and the Family Stone, become a republic within the republic. Damon Wise, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for presumptuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for presumptuous
Adjective
  • The protests proved conclusively that Americans will not tolerate the deployment of the U.S. military in American cities, the constant line-stepping over constitutional boundaries, the arrests of political dissenters, or the arrogant defense of police-state tactics.
    Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
  • In Aesop’s fable, the turtle (traditionally called a tortoise, which is a type of turtle) is a winner, a perpetual underdog who defeats the arrogant hare.
    A.O. Scott, New York Times, 13 June 2025
Adjective
  • He's got a busy schedule ahead, starring in season 2 of Peacock's Twisted Metal and Alex Winter's upcoming Adulthood.
    EW.com, EW.com, 28 June 2025
  • Despite the setback in Denver, the couple has been busy in the meantime.
    Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • This incremental model allows firms to evolve while maintaining familiar strategies.
    Seth Price, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
  • No new president, whether a Democrat, a more traditional Republican, or a Trump disciple, will have the option of returning to the familiar approaches of the post–Cold War era.
    REBECCA LISSNER, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • There’s something officious about Alden Ehrenreich.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Jan. 2023
  • Her charming luxury treasure trove has none of that officious chilliness that defines the typical store of its ilk but instead feels like a brocanterie crammed with interesting, unexpected luxury goods from across the world.
    Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 2 Jan. 2023
Adjective
  • The smug and sanctimonious tenor of their briefing makes that plain.
    Christie D’Zurilla, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
  • In a comedic twist, the Labrador retriever was filmed turning back to his owner during the drive, with a smug look on his face as if to boast about his comfortable spot.
    Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
Adjective
  • Our more than 18,000 Bombardier employees are proud to welcome this new, important customer to our family.
    Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • But despite everything, we were driven by passion and the desire to achieve results, and many Italians who lived there as immigrants were proud of us.
    James Horncastle, New York Times, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • For America to retain our status as the hub of the financial world, global investors need to know that dollars invested in U.S. financial institutions will not be subject to intrusive government regulation and taxation, and that their financial privacy will be protected.
    Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 19 June 2025
  • This precision timing enhances conversion rates and improves the customer experience, making interactions feel serendipitous rather than intrusive.
    Maria Youth, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Adjective
  • Those words, immodest, carried away with possibility and essentially romantic, are articulated in the new documentary Kerouac’s Road: The Beat of a Nation, which makes its premiere this evening at Tribeca Festival in New York.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 5 June 2025
  • Not to be immodest, but the third did more than the second and the second did more than the first.
    Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Presumptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presumptuous. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

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