Assume vs Presume? Which One Should We Use When Writing?

Not many words in English have both similar spellings and similar meanings. They, as a result, cannot be termed as “homophones”, “homonyms”, or “homographs”. If you still didn’t get it, the discussion is about the verbs “assume” and “presume”.

The verbs “assume” and “presume” have similar spellings, and their meanings are almost identical. However, “assume”, unlike “presume”, means thoughts based purely on conjectures. In other words, use “presume” in your texts if there is reasoning backing it up. If there is no evidence, use “assume”.

The difference between the two terms treads a thin line and may not be easy to pick up right away. Therefore, if you are still not clear how to use the two terms in various writing scenarios, or you want to know the meanings of the two individual words in a bit more detail, read on.

Assume – Definition

The verb “assume” or “to assume” means “taking for granted” or “supposing”. It is to conceive things out of thin air or come to conclusions without any reference or proper context. Words similar in meaning or synonymous to “assume” include “speculate”, “suspect”, “think”, “believe”, etc.

The term “assume”, however, can assume (no pun intended) another meaning, which is “to appropriate”, “to take up a responsibility”, or “to undertake a job”. The verb can also mean “adopting certain traits”. In other words, you can “assume another identity” besides also “assuming guard duty”.

“Assumptions” are Everywhere

When you “assume”, you view things based on your interpretations or understanding of those things.

Assumptions happen everywhere. For example, if a car drives past you quickly, you are quick to assume the driver is irresponsible or under the influence. Those assumptions could be valid, but it could also be true that the car’s brakes were not working.

Similarly, suppose you don’t like your manager, and the two of you are working together on a special project. If the manager disagrees with most of your inputs or debates over things you thought were great ideas, to begin with, you are likely to “assume” the manager is being needlessly harsh and discrediting your contributions only because the both of you do not share a “camaraderie” of any kind.

However, another possible cause for the differences between you both could be your contributions genuinely not being valuable to the project or relevant to the discussion – which you may not have thought of due to your “preconceived notions”.

Why are assumptions so omnipresent? Because they are easy to manufacture. Most importantly, there is science at work in the background.

The human brain has more than 100 billion cells, with each making more than 10,000 connections with other cells. While the vast number of possible cell connection combinations permit higher-order thought processes, it is a major issue as far as energy expenditure is concerned. The brain, therefore, must encode things to save energy. Making “assumptions” is one way of saving energy.

Humans draw from their past experiences to look for patterns in things happening around them. When they encounter new scenarios, those patterns are put to work in the new environment. This process helps the brain save energy as it doesn’t have to analyze every situation from scratch.

Since an “assumption” doesn’t require evidence or reasoning, they occur a lot more than “presumptions”, which need some kind of data backing them.

Are “Assumptions” Good or Bad?

Assumptions are good for the brain as they ensure the brain uses minimal resources when trying to comprehend or evaluating things. However, it’s hazardous if your interpretations of various situations are only based on assumptions. Such self-centered thinking is also flawed because it makes you believe people who do not think like you are bad or wrong.

Presume – Definition

The verb “presume” means “a supposition or surmise rooted in some kind of evidence or probability”. Unlike “presume”, presuming is backed with some kind of reasoning. In other words, “presume” means “to make an informed guess”.

The verb, too, has its share of alternate meanings. For instance, “presume” can also mean “functioning or undertaking without permission or with undue boldness”. In law, “presume” means “accepting a thing as fact if there is no evidence proving it otherwise”.

In the legal slogan “presumed innocent until guilt is proven”, however, the term “presume” denotes that legal systems give an offender the “presumption of innocence”, putting the burden of evidence on the prosecution, as a consequence. In other words, the court of law presumes innocence until guilt is proven.

“Assume” and “Presume” – A Comparison, and Using Them in Texts

Both the verbs “assume” and “presume” share the same etymology or have their roots in Latin. The original Latin term in cases of both the verbs is “sumere”, which means “to take up” or “put on”.

The spellings of the two words are also quite similar, except for the prefixes they use. “Pre-” denotes “before”. The prefix “as-“, however, was not originally used. It was first “ad-“, which meant “up” or “to”. In other words, the word “assume” could have been “adsume” if the original prefix was kept.

The thing that confuses writers between the two terms is their meanings, which are quite similar. Both the terms carry the thought or mean “taking” or “supposing for granted” something is true. The word “presume”, in that sense, is invariably used as the synonym for “assume”, and vice versa.

However, there is a minor difference when the two verbs are used in that sense. When you “presume” a thing, it could be interpreted as it is likely to be true. When something is “assumed”, however, the supposition is without evidence. The adverb “presumably”, after all, refers to “by reasonable assumption”.

For example, if you hear someone banging on your front door during the wee hours of the morning, you may “assume” it might be your crazy neighbor. But if this crazy neighbor has this weird tendency of knocking on your front door every morning at 03:00 hours, you may “presume” at 02:55 hours that a knock on your door is on its way in another 5 minutes.

Long story short, “assume” and “presume” cannot be used interchangeably, even though their similar meanings might indicate otherwise. When “assume” is used in place of “presume” in a sentence, something could be missing.

Example Sentences with the Word “Assume”

The following is a list of sentences with the verb “assume” and the variations of the word:

• The deputy spokesperson said Mr. Murray would assume the chancellor’s responsibilities after the existing chancellor, Mr. Turnip’s term comes to an end.
• However, that argument is not correct as it assumes women cannot do specific jobs in the stock market.
• You are assuming negative things about him because you do not like him.
• Andre assumes she can take care of him.
• I assume you are behind this complete transformation in his appearance.
• She is a bit too clever to assume things simply.
• I assume you do not have anything substantial to add to the discussion.
• I assume that is where she is headed.
• I assume she is capable of assimilation and emulation.
• She assumed the best jobs are fun and also pay very handsomely.
• I assume this building isn’t as deep in history and heritage as some people would like to believe.
• Women are not expected to assume the role of a man.
• Were they encouraging him to assume a parent’s role to a child he did not biologically father?
• Shall I assume she won’t be returning at least for a week?
• I assume she had a sense of what was going to happen from thereon.
• I assume their suspicions are pretty strong.
• People do boring jobs because they assume they are not capable of anything better.
• I assume pretty much every individual in defense believes they are safeguarding freedom and serving their nation.

Kindly note, specific sentences above also clearly illustrate how “assume” could mean more than just one thing.

Example Sentences with the Word “Presume”

Here is a list of sentences with the verb “presume” in them:

• She presumed the concerned department would eventually be merged with the call center.
• I presume that’s exactly what she thought when he opened the fancy jewelry box.
• The facts are all ill-recorded, but it can be safely presumed that the intriguers were planning to create havoc.
• The car hooting reaction the mayor received after his speech made him presume the people were on his side.
• It’s unlikely anyone would presume people in the community had an upbringing in an environment of peace and harmony.
• I presume it’s not in print anymore, which is quite unfortunate.
• We presume the cables are for the expansive home theatre setup.
• I would not like to presume anything and, therefore, won’t be refuting your claims.
• This led them to presume she was playing the main character in the play.
• Do not be so lenient as that may cause people to presume.
• I presume she is still at work as she hasn’t returned home yet.

Replacing the term “presume” with “assume” in any of the sentences above may not completely change the meaning of the texts, but there will be a minor alteration in meaning that should not be overlooked.

Conclusion

Assuming things is usually indicative of your “lack of knowledge” or “narrow approach” toward things. When you “presume”, however, it denotes you know better. Before using either of the two words in your sentences, know their meanings to not “assume” things when you could have “presumed” them and come across as more learned.