presume
part of speech
verb (presume, presumes, presumed, presuming)
meaning for a pupil
1) To think something is true without being sure, because it seems likely. tree →
2) (law) To treat something as true until it is proved wrong: «innocent until proved guilty». tree →
3) (formal) To be bold or rude enough to do something you have no right to do: «Don't presume to tell me what to do.» tree →
4) presume on/upon To take unfair advantage of someone's kindness. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and talk: «I presume you've done your homework.» Famous line: «Dr Livingstone, I presume?» In law a person is «presumed innocent». In science, a guess you treat as true until tested is close to an assumption. Phrases: «I presume», «presumed dead», «presumed innocent».
examples
- I presume you're hungry after the long walk. tree →
- The sailors were presumed lost at sea, but they came home. tree →
- In court, everyone is presumed innocent until proved guilty. tree →
- Don't presume to boss me around! tree →
- We presumed the shop was open, but it was shut. tree →
- "You're the new girl, I presume?" said the teacher. tree →
- She never presumed on her friends' kindness. tree →
- We presume this from the interest, which came to twenty dollars. tree →
note
Regular verb: presumed, presuming. Noun «presumption», adjective «presumptuous» (too bold). Close to «assume»; «presume» suggests more reason to believe it. In maths word problems, do not presume facts that are not given.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «presume» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.