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assume

 [uh-soom]   Example Sentences Origin

as·sume

   [uh-soom] verb, -sumed, -sum·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to take for granted or without proof; suppose; postulate; posit: to assume that everyone wants peace.
2.
to take upon oneself; undertake: to assume an obligation.
3.
to take over the duties or responsibilities of: to assume the office of treasurer.
4.
to take on (a particular character, quality, mode of life, etc.); adopt: He assumed the style of an aggressive go-getter.
5.
to take on; be invested or endowed with: The situation assumed a threatening character.
EXPAND
6.
to pretend to have or be; feign: to assume a humble manner.
7.
to appropriate or arrogate; seize; usurp: to assume a right to oneself; to assume control.
8.
to take upon oneself (the debts or obligations of another).
9.
Archaic. to take into relation or association; adopt.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
10.
to take something for granted; presume.

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Assume is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English (< Anglo-French assumer) < Latin assūmere to take to, adopt, equivalent to as- as- + sūmere to take up; see consume

Related forms
as·sum·er, noun
o·ver·as·sume, verb (used with object), -sumed, -sum·ing.
pre·as·sume, verb (used with object), -sumed, -sum·ing.
re·as·sume, verb (used with object), -sumed, -sum·ing.
su·per·as·sume, verb (used with object), -sumed, -sum·ing.

Synonyms
1. presuppose. 6. See pretend.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To assume
Example Sentences
  • She is the eighth person and first female to assume the top post in the magazine's 165-year history.
  • All the rest of the original posters had been stolen or, I assume, destroyed.
  • There's no reason to assume this is a frustrating time.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
assume (əˈsjuːm)
 
—vb
1.  (may take a clause as object) to take for granted; accept without proof; suppose: to assume that someone is sane
2.  to take upon oneself; undertake or take on or over (a position, responsibility, etc): to assume office
3.  to pretend to; feign: he assumed indifference, although the news affected him deeply
4.  to take or put on; adopt: the problem assumed gigantic proportions
5.  to appropriate or usurp (power, control, etc); arrogate: the revolutionaries assumed control of the city
6.  Christianity (of God) to take up (the soul of a believer) into heaven
 
[C15: from Latin assūmere to take up, from sūmere to take up, from sub- + emere to take]
 
as'sumable
 
—adj
 
as'sumer
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

assume
mid-15c., "to receive up into heaven" (especially of the Virgin Mary, e.g. Feast of the Assumption, celebrated Aug. 15, attested from c.1300), from L. assumere "to take up," from ad- "to, up" + sumere "to take," from sub "under" + emere "to take" (see exempt). Early pp. was
EXPAND
assumpt. Meaning "to suppose" is first recorded 1590s. In rhetorical usage, assume expresses what the assumer postulates, often as a confessed hypothesis; presume expresses what the presumer really believes.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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