Presumptuous Meaning
/pɹəˈzʌmp.tʃuː.əs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjMaking unwarranted presumptions or assumptions, often out of arrogance or excessive self-confidence, and thus exceeding appropriate or rightful limits.
Sentence Examples
It would be presumptuous to call myself his replacement, but I could offer some guidance.
I don't want to be presumptuous.
It's presumptuous to say that it's "production". Isn't it more processing?
CEFR Practice Quiz
It was ____ of him to assume he would get the job without an interview.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It was considered ____ of him to assume he would be promoted without even applying for the role.
Word Origin & History
From pre- + Latin sūmptus + -uous, from Middle English presumptuous, borrowed from Old French presumptieus, presumpcieus, presumptuos, from Latin praesumptuosus.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Preſumptuous Prieſt, this place cōmands my patiēce, / Or thou ſhould'ſt finde thou haſt dis-honor'd me."
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 105, column 2:
"Is this the proud presumtious Esquire of the North, / That would not yeeld his prisoner to my Queen"
— 1596, [attributed to William Shakespeare; Thomas Kyd], The Raigne of King Edward the Third: […], London: […] [T. Scarlet] for Cuthbert Burby, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
"Keepe back thy seruant also from presumptuous sinnes, let them not haue dominion ouer me: then shall I be vpright, and I shalbe innocent from the great transgression."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 19:13:
"Dorothea checked herself suddenly with self-rebuke for the presumptuous way in which she was reckoning on uncertain events, but she was spared any inward effort to change the direction of her thoughts by the appearance of a cantering horseman round a turning of the road."
— 1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter III, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I:
""Of course," said Felix, "I suggest nothing; it would be very presumptuous in me to advise you. But I think there is no doubt about the fact.""
— 1878 July–October, Henry James, Jr., chapter IV, in The Europeans. A Sketch. […], volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., published 1878, →OCLC, pages 166–167:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
It was ____ of him to assume he would get the job without an interview.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It was considered ____ of him to assume he would be promoted without even applying for the role.