as in theories
something taken as being true or factual and used as a starting point for a course of action or reasoning
the widespread assumption that violent entertainment leads to violent behavior in children your argument is faulty because it's based on erroneous assumptions
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Recent Examples of assumptions
Other works create entirely new worlds with different assumptions and frameworks underpinning their social and other dynamics.
—
The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 10 Sep. 2025
For centuries, businesses, governments and societies have relied on deterministic assumptions.
—Richie Etwaru, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Omar’s growing outrage, especially when precious time is lost because of jammed phone lines, troubling silences and false assumptions, rankles Mahdi, the most overstretched of anyone at the call center.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
The width of certain spectral lines—fingerprints of the light emitted during flares—has long been wider than expected based on standard temperature assumptions.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Leaders are now compelled to reassess their foundational assumptions, as geopolitical risk increasingly impacts economic stability, regulatory environments, and market access.
—Bryce Hoffman, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
While China and India surge ahead in clean energy investments and storage advancements, some in Washington want to take us back to the mid-1970s — a time when energy policy was dictated by outdated assumptions and fossil fuel dependence.
—Bill Ritter Jr., The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2025
Showdown at Little Rock Similar assumptions guided events even in places where desegregation appeared to be working.
—Essence, 22 Mar. 2025
The best leaders recognize that their data and assumptions can become outdated quickly.
—John Cairney, Sportico.com, 22 Mar. 2025
The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 10 Sep. 2025
For centuries, businesses, governments and societies have relied on deterministic assumptions.
—Richie Etwaru, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Omar’s growing outrage, especially when precious time is lost because of jammed phone lines, troubling silences and false assumptions, rankles Mahdi, the most overstretched of anyone at the call center.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
The width of certain spectral lines—fingerprints of the light emitted during flares—has long been wider than expected based on standard temperature assumptions.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Leaders are now compelled to reassess their foundational assumptions, as geopolitical risk increasingly impacts economic stability, regulatory environments, and market access.
—Bryce Hoffman, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
While China and India surge ahead in clean energy investments and storage advancements, some in Washington want to take us back to the mid-1970s — a time when energy policy was dictated by outdated assumptions and fossil fuel dependence.
—Bill Ritter Jr., The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2025
Showdown at Little Rock Similar assumptions guided events even in places where desegregation appeared to be working.
—Essence, 22 Mar. 2025
The best leaders recognize that their data and assumptions can become outdated quickly.
—John Cairney, Sportico.com, 22 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assumptions
Noun
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Mid-century collective behavior theories considered social movements to be nonrational, spontaneous events occurring during moments of social and cultural breakdown.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Testing particle physics theories, the $8 billion LHC was composed of superconducting magnets that allowed scientists to study subatomic particles including protons, electrons, quarks and photons.—
Lorenzino Estrada,
AZCentral.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There’s humor, insight, and a ton of catchy and inventive premises here.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
10 Sep. 2025
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These failures occurred when the AI models confabulated successful operations and built subsequent actions on false premises, highlighting the risks of depending on AI assistants that can misinterpret file structures or fabricate data to hide their errors.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But, of course, everything is constantly changing and evolving; therefore, especially within the ever-expanding domain of wealth management, the best advisors will always be open to testing former hypotheses and determining whether newer ideas will better serve their clients.—
Tim Maurer,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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Initial hypotheses suggested those become more elaborate over time in response to the growing threat of Cretaceous predators.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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O'Dell pleaded guilty earlier this year to arson, damage to religious property and obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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The sentencing comes months after O’Dell, a Temple native, pleaded guilty to three charges — arson, damage to religious property and obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs — in April.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Without an indictment, and the evidence supporting it, we're left with little more than presumptions.—
Isaac Saul,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
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This group, a key driving force in the success of today's economy, should not be ignored, let alone scoffed at based on a series of cartoonish delusions and misplaced presumptions.—
Rory O'Hara,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
One of the big suppositions behind the big data center boom is that the most cutting edge AI models will be at least as large, if not larger, than the leading models that exist today.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
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She’s bemused by suppositions about the advantages of her family legacy, which in reality boasts a centuries-deep ledger of addiction, estrangement, and untimely death.—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Assumptions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assumptions. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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