Adjacent Words

Assume definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ASSU'ME, v.t. [L. assumo, of ad and sumo, to take.]
1. To take or take upon one. If differs from receive, in not implying an offer to give.
The God assumed his native form again.
2. To take what is not just; to take with arrogant claims; to arrogate; to seize unjustly; as, to assume haughty airs; to assume unwarrantable powers.
3. To take for granted, or without proof; to suppose as a fact; as, to assume a principle in reasoning.
4. To appropriate, or take to one's self; as, to assume the debts of another.
5. To take what is fictitious; to pretend to possess; to take in appearance; as, to assume the garb of humility.
ASSUME, v.i.
1. To be arrogant; to claim more than is due.
2. In law, to take upon one's self an obligation; to undertake or promise; as, A assumed upon himself, and promised to pay.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof; "I assume his train was late" [syn: assume, presume, take for granted]
2: take on titles, offices, duties, responsibilities; "When will the new President assume office?" [syn: assume, adopt, take on, take over]
3: take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect; "His voice took on a sad tone"; "The story took a new turn"; "he adopted an air of superiority"; "She assumed strange manners"; "The gods assume human or animal form in these fables" [syn: assume, acquire, adopt, take on, take]
4: take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person; "I'll accept the charges"; "She agreed to bear the responsibility" [syn: bear, take over, accept, assume]
5: occupy or take on; "He assumes the lotus position"; "She took her seat on the stage"; "We took our seats in the orchestra"; "She took up her position behind the tree"; "strike a pose" [syn: assume, take, strike, take up]
6: seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died" [syn: assume, usurp, seize, take over, arrogate]
7: make a pretence of; "She assumed indifference, even though she was seething with anger"; "he feigned sleep" [syn: simulate, assume, sham, feign]
8: take up someone's soul into heaven; "This is the day when May was assumed into heaven"
9: put clothing on one's body; "What should I wear today?"; "He put on his best suit for the wedding"; "The princess donned a long blue dress"; "The queen assumed the stately robes"; "He got into his jeans" [syn: wear, put on, get into, don, assume]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (assumed; assuming) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin assumere, from ad- + sumere to take — more at consume Date: 15th century 1. a. to take up or in ; receive b. to take into partnership, employment, or use 2. a. to take to or upon oneself ; undertake <assume responsibility> b. put on, don c. to place oneself in <assume a position> 3. seize, usurp <assume control> 4. to pretend to have or be ; feign <assumed an air of confidence in spite of her dismay> 5. to take as granted or true ; suppose <I assume he'll be there> 6. to take over (the debts of another) as one's own • assumability noun • assumable adjective • assumably adverb Synonyms: assume, affect, pretend, simulate, feign, counterfeit, sham mean to put on a false or deceptive appearance. assume often implies a justifiable motive rather than an intent to deceive <assumed an air of cheerfulness around the patients>. affect implies making a false show of possessing, using, or feeling <affected an interest in art>. pretend implies an overt and sustained false appearance <pretended that nothing had happened>. simulate suggests a close imitation of the appearance of something <cosmetics that simulate a suntan>. feign implies more artful invention than pretend less specific mimicry than simulate <feigned sickness>. counterfeit implies achieving the highest degree of verisimilitude of any of these words <an actor counterfeiting drunkenness>. sham implies an obvious falseness that fools only the gullible <shammed a most unconvincing limp>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 (usu. foll. by that + clause) take or accept as being true, without proof, for the purpose of argument or action. 2 simulate or pretend (ignorance etc.). 3 undertake (an office or duty). 4 take or put on oneself or itself (an aspect, attribute, etc.) (the problem assumed immense proportions). 5 (usu. foll. by to) arrogate, usurp, or seize (credit, power, etc.) (assumed to himself the right of veto). Derivatives: assumable adj. assumedly adv. Etymology: ME f. L assumere (as AD-, sumere sumpt- take)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Assume As*sume", v. i. 1. To be arrogant or pretentious; to claim more than is due. --Bp. Burnet. 2. (Law) To undertake, as by a promise. --Burrill.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Assume As*sume", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assumed; p. pr. & vb. n. Assuming.] [L. assumere; ad + sumere to take; sub + emere to take, buy: cf. F. assumer. See Redeem.] 1. To take to or upon one's self; to take formally and demonstratively; sometimes, to appropriate or take unjustly. Trembling they stand while Jove assumes the throne. --Pope. The god assumed his native form again. --Pope. 2. To take for granted, or without proof; to suppose as a fact; to suppose or take arbitrarily or tentatively. The consequences of assumed principles. --Whewell. 3. To pretend to possess; to take in appearance. Ambition assuming the mask of religion. --Porteus. Assume a virtue, if you have it not. --Shak. 4. To receive or adopt. The sixth was a young knight of lesser renown and lower rank, assumed into that honorable company. --Sir W. Scott. Syn: To arrogate; usurp; appropriate.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(assumes, assuming, assumed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you assume that something is true, you imagine that it is true, sometimes wrongly. It is a misconception to assume that the two continents are similar... If mistakes occurred, they were assumed to be the fault of the commander on the spot... 'Today?'—'I'd assume so, yeah.' = presume VERB: V that, be V-ed to-inf, V so 2. If someone assumes power or responsibility, they take power or responsibility. Mr Cross will assume the role of Chief Executive with a team of four directors... VERB: V n 3. If something assumes a particular quality, it begins to have that quality. In his dreams, the mountains assumed enormous importance. = take on VERB: V n 4. You can use let us assume or let's assume when you are considering a possible situation or event, so that you can think about the consequences. Let us assume those clubs actually win something. Then players will receive large bonuses... Let's assume for a moment that I am a litigant in your court. PHRASE: PHR that see also assuming

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Take, undertake, take on, take upon one's self, be willing to bear, become responsible for. 2. Affect, feign, counterfeit, simulate, pretend to, put on. 3. Arrogate, usurp, claim unduly, make unjust pretensions to. 4. Beg, suppose, presuppose, imply, consider as true, take for granted.

Moby Thesaurus

accept, account as, accroach, acquire, act, act a part, act like, admit, adopt, affect, affirm, allegorize, allow, allude to, appropriate, arrogate, assert, assume, assume command, attack, attempt, aver, be afraid, believe, bluff, borrow, bring, bring to mind, buckle to, call for, camouflage, change, chorus, cloak, colonize, come by, come in for, commandeer, comprise, conceal, concede, conceive, conclude, connote, conquer, consider, contain, copy, counterfeit, cover up, crib, dare, daresay, deduce, deem, derive, derive from, disguise, dissemble, dissimulate, ditto, divine, do, do a bit, do like, don, drag down, dramatize, draw, draw from, draw on, dream, dress in, echo, embark in, embark upon, employ, encroach, endeavor, engage in, enslave, entail, enter on, enter upon, esteem, estimate, expect, fake, fall into, fall to, fancy, feel, feign, forge, four-flush, gain, gammon, gather, get, get into, get on, get under way, go about, go at, go in for, go into, go like, go upon, grab, grant, guess, have, have a hunch, have an idea, have an impression, have an inkling, have at, have coming in, have the idea, hazard, hide, hint, histrionize, hog, hoke, hoke up, hold, hold as, imagine, imitate, implicate, imply, import, indent, infer, infringe, insinuate, intimate, invade, involve, judge, jump a claim, launch forth, launch into, lay about, lead to, let, let be, let on, let on like, look upon as, maintain, make a pretense, make as if, make believe, make bold, make free, make free with, make like, make out like, make use of, mask, mean, mean to say, mirror, mock, monopolize, mount the throne, move into, obtain, occupy, opine, overact, overrun, pirate, pitch into, plagiarize, play, play God, play a part, play a scene, play possum, playact, plunge into, point indirectly to, posit, postulate, predicate, preempt, prefigure, premise, preoccupy, prepossess, presume, presuppose, presurmise, pretend, pretend to, proceed to, profess, provisionally accept, pull, pull down, put on, put on airs, receive, reckon, reecho, reflect, regard, repeat, repute, require, requisition, say, secure, seize, seize power, seize the throne, set about, set at, set down as, set forward, set going, set to, sham, simulate, sit on, slip on, snatch, squat on, steal, strike, subjugate, subsume, suggest, suppose, surmise, suspect, tackle, take, take all of, take charge, take command, take for, take for granted, take in, take it, take it all, take on, take over, take possession, take possession of, take the helm, take the lead, take the liberty, take to be, take up, think, throw, trespass, trow, tug the heartstrings, turn to, understand, undertake, use, usurp, venture, venture upon, view as, wear, ween