presume

Definitions

pre- (beforehand) + sume (take) = 'take as settled in advance.' Treating something as true before you have proof gives the careful sense (presumed innocent). Pushed further — taking a liberty you haven't earned — it becomes the bold sense (don't presume to advise me), which is where presumptuous comes from.

Why It Means This

Presume sits on a hinge. Lean one way and it's careful: you suppose something in advance because there's good reason to (presumed dead after years missing). Lean the other and it's arrogant: you take a liberty you have no right to (he presumed to speak for everyone). The same 'taking for granted in advance' turns polite or pushy depending on whether you had the standing to assume it.

Common Collocations

• 1.presume innocent推定无罪
• 2.presume dead推定死亡
• 3.I presume我想，料想
• 4.presume to擅自……

Example Sentences

• 1.

  In law, a suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

• 2.

  I presume you've already read the report?

• 3.

  I wouldn't presume to tell an expert how to do her job.

Easily Confused

presume vs assume — assume is a neutral guess with no evidence (I assume it's closed on Sundays); presume implies you have grounds for it (the house was dark, so I presumed they'd left). Only presume carries the extra sense of 'overstepping' — to presume on someone's kindness means to take unfair advantage of it.