presupposition

CEFRB2

/pɹiː.sʌ.pəˈzɪ.ʃ(ə)n/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An idea accepted as true before it is proved.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    An assumption or belief implicit in an utterance or other use of language.

Examples

  • His entire theory rests on a false presupposition about human behavior.

  • The theory is based on a somewhat flawed presupposition.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The act of presupposing.

  2. An assumption made beforehand; a preliminary conjecture or speculation.

More examples

In context

  • We should avoid making any unfair presupposition about others.

  • He made one cardinal error in his presuppositions about the relation between language and perception, but in this he was far from alone.

  • For instance: a verb might convey someone's evaluation of it as a presupposition. To say ‘they deprived him of a visit to his parents’ presupposes that he wanted to visit (vs. ‘spare him a visit...’).

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The scientist's blank that the experiment would work was challenged by unexpected results.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle French présupposition, from Latin praesuppositio, from the past participle stem of praesuppōnere (“to presuppose”).