Assume or presume?
assume is a verb meaning “To authenticate by means of belief; to surmise; to suppose to be true…”; presume is a verb meaning “To be so presumptuous as (to do something) without proper authority or…”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) assume is about 8.9 times as common as presume.
What is the difference between assume and presume?
| assume | presume | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb | verb |
| Meaning | To authenticate by means of belief; to surmise; to suppose to be true, especially without proof To take on a position, duty or form | To be so presumptuous as (to do something) without proper authority or permission [with to (+ infinitive)] To assume or suggest to be true (without proof); to take for granted, to suppose |
| Example | We assume that, as her parents were dentists, she knows quite a bit about dentistry | I don't want to pretend to be an authority on this line of business, so I would never presume to tell you how to run your own company |
| Forms | assumes, assuming, assumed | presumes, presuming, presumed |
| Pronunciation | /əˈsjuːm/ /əˈʃuːm/ /əˈsum/ | /pɹɪˈzjuːm/ /pɹɪˈz(j)um/ /pɹiˈz(j)um/ |
| In writing | 37 times per million words | 4.2 times per million words |
Sources: assume and presume in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of assume and presume
assume
- 1
To authenticate by means of belief; to surmise; to suppose to be true, especially without proof
We assume that, as her parents were dentists, she knows quite a bit about dentistry
- 2
To take on a position, duty or form
Mr. Jones will assume the position of a lifeguard until a proper replacement is found
- 3
To adopt a feigned quality or manner; to claim without right; to arrogate
He assumed an air of indifference
- 4
To receive, adopt (a person)
- 5
To adopt (an idea or cause)
presume
- 1
To be so presumptuous as (to do something) without proper authority or permission [with to (+ infinitive)]
I don't want to pretend to be an authority on this line of business, so I would never presume to tell you how to run your own company
- 2
To assume or suggest to be true (without proof); to take for granted, to suppose
Paw-prints in the snow allow us to presume a visit from next door's cat
- 3
To take as a premise; to assume for the sake of argument
- 4
To impose (on) for one's advantage; to be presumptuous; to take advantage (of); to take liberties (with) [with on or upon]
Thanks, but I can't accept the money; I would not want to presume on the generosity of a stranger'
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, assume or presume?
assume appears 37 times per million words; presume 4.2 times per million words.
assume 37 times per million wordspresume 4.2 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search assume vs presume?
“assume vs presume” is searched about 14,800 times a month on Google and 250 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“presume vs assume”, “assume or presume”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.