Presupposition Meaning
/pɹiː.sʌ.pəˈzɪ.ʃ(ə)n/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn assumption made beforehand; a preliminary conjecture or speculation.
nounThe act of presupposing.
Sentence Examples
The theory is based on a somewhat flawed presupposition.
We should avoid making any unfair presupposition about others.
His entire theory rests on a false presupposition about human behavior.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientist's ____ that the experiment would work was challenged by unexpected results.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hidden ____ in the question made it impossible to answer without accepting a false premise.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French présupposition, from Latin praesuppositio, from the past participle stem of praesuppōnere (“to presuppose”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He made one cardinal error in his presuppositions about the relation between language and perception, but in this he was far from alone."
— 2010, Guy Deutscher, Through the Language Glass, Arrow, published 2011, page 40:
"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...’)."
— 1971, Paul Kiparsky, Carol Kiparsky, “Fact”, in Danny Steinberg, Leon Jakobovits, editors, Semantics: An Interdisciplinary Reader in Philosophy, Linguistics and Psychology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 351:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientist's ____ that the experiment would work was challenged by unexpected results.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hidden ____ in the question made it impossible to answer without accepting a false premise.