assumes

verb

present tense third-person singular of assume
1
as in accepts
to take to or upon oneself we promised to assume responsibility for any damage to the flower beds caused by the volleyball game in the backyard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in says
to take as true or as a fact without actual proof everyone assumed, wrongly, that someone else was bringing dessert

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in guesses
to form an opinion from little or no evidence as I just assumed it was too late to go out, I didn't think to ask

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in pretends
to present a false appearance of she assumed an air of nonchalance even though she was wildly ecstatic she was going on the date

Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in employs
to provide with a paying job assumed as partner by the prestigious law firm

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of assumes This implicit passivity assumes that technology, rather than people, will determine AI’s impact on work. — Byron Auguste, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 In the novel, likewise, the narrator assumes an almost Homeric guise, comparing current harbor gossip to chatter from the Phoenician, Cretan, Greek, and Roman eras. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 But much of the deleveraging framework, Condon acknowledged, assumes the underlying businesses continue to perform largely in line with their pre-transaction trajectories, making execution incredibly important. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026 The current search at Durupınar, like those that came before it, assumes that behind the biblical story there is tangible evidence just waiting to be found. — Eric Vanden Eykel, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026 Every other system assumes the person taking the action and the person answering for it are one and the same. — Alex Salazar, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026 The analysis assumes Royals fans would shop and dine at businesses in the area. — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2026 The narrator assumes his gift for retail politics will charm his old friend; Micah laughs in his face. — Ryan Chapman, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026 Hardly anyone assumes that exact values for pc can be determined. — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assumes
  1. accepts
  2. says
  3. guesses
  4. pretends
  5. employs
  6. shoulders
  7. presumes
  8. supposes
Verb
  • At the end of the chain, oxygen accepts the electrons and, together with protons, becomes water.
    — Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • After the portal accepts your filing Use the portal’s search function to locate an existing notice and monitor your filing record.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of accepts
Verb
  • Martin Zummach, an attorney who represents the officer who fired the shot that killed Kohen, says the attorney general's findings cleared his client of criminal wrongdoing.
    — SOPHIE BATES, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For developers managing a mix of AC and DC loads, Inam says the device collapses a number of machines—including a rectifier, an inverter, backup power and energy management—into a single unit four feet square and 12 feet high.
    — Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of says
Verb
  • Logan Wright, the author of Broken China, guesses that growth is now running at no more than 1% — and may even be zero.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The system consists of a predictive algorithm that guesses how a robot is broken, along with robotic manipulators that actually take the broken robot apart.
    — Kohava Mendelsohn, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of guesses
Verb
  • Directed by Kim Han-gyul, the film is an adaptation of 2012 Swedish film Cockpit about a pilot who pretends to be his own younger sister after being fired from his job.
    — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Everyone pretends the films were chosen purely on merit, but the slate often reads Hollywood with a lanyard and a conscience.
    — Joseph Kahn, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of pretends
Verb
  • The program is different from places like The Golden Scoop, an ice cream shop in Overland Park that employs adults with disabilities over longer terms, according to Morgan.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
  • According to the site’s masthead, the operation—including its video production arm, Texas FilmWorks—employs a staff of more than 40.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of employs
Verb
  • Mary Amiti, Sebastian Heise and David Weinstein looked at who shoulders the cost of the tariffs, examining which part of the tariff reaches consumers through higher prices versus which share of the price hike is due to other factors.
    — Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Elordi nearly shoulders the running time but plays his Hig a bit too humbly.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of shoulders
Verb
  • Homeownership has long been a marker of the American Dream, but this dream presumes autonomy, voice and equitable treatment.
    — Stephanie A. Dhuman, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • But that logic presumes every single aspect of both studios’ production pipelines will continue to operate normally once Paramount and WBD become one.
    — Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of presumes
Verb
  • Hence, any thought experiment that presupposes an AGI often supposes an ASI.
    — Geoffrey Irving, Time, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Rock* supposes there’s a fork in the road where the Beatles take us one way and the Velvet Underground pull us somewhere else entirely.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of supposes

Browse Nearby Words

assumed
assumes
assuming
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Assumes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assumes. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All