pre ‧ sume S3 AC /prɪˈzjuːm $ -ˈzuːm/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ presume ; noun : ↑ presumption ; adverb : ↑ presumably ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: présumer , from Latin praesumere , from sumere 'to take' ]
1 . [transitive] to think that something is true, although you are not certain SYN assume :
Each of you will make a speech, I presume?
‘Are his parents still alive?’ 'I presume so.’
presume that
I presume we’ll be there by six o'clock.
presume somebody/something to be somebody/something
From the way he talked, I presumed him to be your boss.
be presumed to do something
The temple is presumed to date from the first century BC.
2 . [transitive] to accept something as true until it is shown to not be true, especially in law SYN assume :
We must presume innocence until we have evidence of guilt.
be presumed dead/innocent etc
Their nephew was missing, presumed dead.
3 . [intransitive] formal to behave without respect or politeness by doing something that you have no right to do
presume to do something
I would never presume to tell you what to do.
4 . [transitive usually in present tense] formal to accept something as being true and base something else on it SYN presuppose :
The Ancient History course presumes some knowledge of Greek.
presume that
I presume that someone will be there to meet us when we arrive.
5 . presume on/upon sb’s friendship/generosity etc to unfairly ask someone for more than you should, because they are your friend, are generous etc:
It would be presuming on his generosity to ask him for money.