presupposes

verb

present tense third-person singular of presuppose
as in assumes
to take as true or as a fact without actual proof the book presupposes its readers will already know something about the subject

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 presupposes Hence, any thought experiment that presupposes an AGI often supposes an ASI. — Geoffrey Irving, Time, 3 Oct. 2026 The film pulls an Old Custer and presupposes that maybe Monroe didn’t die at the age of 36, juxtaposing a 100-year-old Marilyn with one in her 30s played by Johnson. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026 But the samurai genre already presupposes a fictitious otherworldly place, and everyday normalcy simply doesn’t exist there, Kurosawa said. — ABC News, 29 July 2026 On his Instagram story, the producer Hudson Mohawke wrote that the uproar around the detection tool’s findings presupposes the very conditions of the music industry. — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 21 June 2026 However, this theory presupposes that the CIA even has anything to hide from the public to begin with. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 7 Jan. 2026 The new arrangement under Xi presupposes the absence of rivals. — Deng Yuwen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2025 The framing already presupposes anthropocentrism. — Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 8 Oct. 2025 That phrase, au naturel, presupposes a commonsense distinction between nature and history. — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for presupposes
  1. assumes
  2. presumes
  3. says
  4. believes
  5. supposes
Verb
  • The narrator assumes his gift for retail politics will charm his old friend; Micah laughs in his face.
    — Ryan Chapman, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Hardly anyone assumes that exact values for pc can be determined.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of assumes
Verb
  • Homeownership has long been a marker of the American Dream, but this dream presumes autonomy, voice and equitable treatment.
    — Stephanie A. Dhuman, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • But that logic presumes every single aspect of both studios’ production pipelines will continue to operate normally once Paramount and WBD become one.
    — Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of presumes
Verb
  • The Justice Department also says Beijing is determined to sway American public opinion in its favor by cultivating relationships with political figures seen as having access to the levers of power.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Bravata says none of the cameras or the crew for the photoshoot were from the show.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of says
Verb
  • With her appointment of a special prosecutor, Hochul believes Van Houten is not up to the task.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Jones said the team believes its drilling results raise questions about some previous explanations of the site as a natural rock formation.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of believes
Verb
  • Rock* supposes there’s a fork in the road where the Beatles take us one way and the Velvet Underground pull us somewhere else entirely.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Book banning supposes that children never age, never leave home, never become their own people outside their parents.
    — Rebecca Stafford, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of supposes

Browse Nearby Words

presupposed
presupposes
presupposing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Presupposes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presupposes. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of discreet

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All