presume vs assume
Definitions
verb
- take liberties or act with too much confidence
- take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
- constitute reasonable evidence for
- take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
Examples
Unlike the phrenologists of the 19th century, DeYoung's team doesn't presume to know whether differences in the size of a brain region give rise to unique personality characteristics, or whether our personality differences cause our brains to develop in unique ways - say, that when we practice random acts of kindness, our "agreeableness" center grows larger, or that a lifetime of social isolation might cause a region associated with
Neither the eparch nor the garrison commander presumed to quarrel with Rhavas or to shout out Stylianos 'name.
When a plaintiff is able to prove defamation per se, damages are presumed, but the presumption is rebuttable.
Definitions
verb
- take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person
- take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect
- take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
- take up someone's soul into heaven
- occupy or take on
Examples
Even while he was missing, those uncertain hours of anxious speculation and dismal journalism, she had assumed Maxwell would be found boomingly alive, having spent the whole time enjoying the amorous advances of a short-sighted minke whale.
But freshman composition, like the writing test, assumed a level of competency that few of these students had attained.
The study predicted that, by 2022, the country would still require $7.2 billion in foreign aid a year—and that assumes an upsurge of so-far inexistent mining-industry revenue and no dramatic deterioration of security.
