presumed 1 of 2

adjective

as in apparent
appearing to be true on the basis of evidence that may or may not be confirmed the presumed culprit

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

presumed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of presume
1
as in assumed
to form an opinion from little or no evidence I presume you'll fly if you do go

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in said
to take as true or as a fact without actual proof we should presume that a person is innocent until proven guilty

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 presumed
Adjective
The presumed reasoning behind why the film was ignored is multilayered. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 8 Aug. 2025
Verb
The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. — Bytony Atkins, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026 Society perceives fathers who kill to be evil, but certain mothers appear to be presumed mentally ill. — Dr. Susan Hatters Friedman, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026 Throwing a stiff arm on Patrick Mahomes’ presumed flavor of choice is hardly tasteless. — Jess Bryant, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 79% of the state’s jail population are unsentenced and waiting for trial, meaning the vast majority of inmates in jail are people still presumed innocent. — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Biological parents who create embryos are presumed to be the parents in any dispute. — Arthur L. Caplan, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026 An indictment contains only allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 The students are presumed to have been killed, but only bone fragments of three of them have ever been identified. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 17 Aug. 2026 The operation has come under scrutiny, sparking questions as to whether those left on the decoy plane presumed to still be carrying the President were at risk. — Tiago Ventura, Time, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for presumed
  1. apparent
  2. assumed
  3. said
  4. supposed
  5. guessed
  6. believed
  7. possible
  8. suspected
Adjective
  • This led to a segment on Newsmax in which anchor Carl Higbie deleted one Jelly Roll song from his phone on air, demonstrating the apparent righteous power of tapping a touch-screen button.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Colleges put limits on the right of students and teachers to express points of view that departed from this new apparent consensus.
    — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of apparent
Verb
  • The machinery switches on earlier than long assumed, as brain scans of infants reveal.
    — Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026
  • For the latter, establish what is known, what is assumed, what still needs to be understood and what requires testing.
    — Mustafa Shreet, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of assumed
Verb
  • Over the following two and a half years, the data center will incrementally ramp its load up to a minimum bill demand of 480 megawatts with a maximum contract demand of 600 megawatts, the memo said.
    — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
  • An attorney representing Matthew Mayich’s family said Arizona State University is mishandling the investigation into the hockey player’s collapse and hospitalization and called on members of the coaching staff to be put on administrative leave.
    — Nathan Fenno, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of said
Adjective
  • But clearly any supposed rivalry between the legendary bands is water under the bridge.
    — Peter Gicas, Entertainment Weekly, 14 July 2026
Definition of supposed
Verb
  • Hill and White guessed their crowds were up to five times as large as the one at Sam Burley Park – 10,000 to 15,000 for a big game.
    — Austin Horn August 29, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Looking back on her extraordinary life, few could have guessed how big that little girl could dream.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of guessed
Verb
  • Flowers, who has been sidelined from practice in recent days, is believed to be dealing with a minor hamstring injury.
    — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Since antiquity, people have believed that planting a mulberry tree in front of one’s house is unlucky.
    — Jonathan Flint, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of believed
Adjective
  • Sunlight Place the plant in a sunny window, south-facing if possible, and give it four to six hours of sunlight each day.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Carley Garner, a commodity market strategist and broker at DeCarley Trading, said smaller futures and oil ETFs such as the United States Oil Fund (ticker USO) have made speculation possible for traders at almost any level of experience or funding.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of possible
Verb
  • The attorney, Paul Robinson, is accused of helping his son conceal a safe suspected of containing cocaine and cash.
    — Finch Walker, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Miley has changed her socials to excise the Cyrus from her name, in a move some suspected was a reflection of the ongoing tensions in her family.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of suspected

Browse Nearby Words

presume
presumed
presumedly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Presumed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presumed. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
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
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All