assume
/əˈsjuːm/verb
assume is spelled A-S-S-U-M-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 37 times per million words in written English, the 2,618th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “assume vs presume” about 14,800 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, assume means “To authenticate by means of belief; to surmise; to suppose to be true, especially without proof” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in assume?
| Letters | 6: A-S-S-U-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 37 times per million words; the 2,618th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is assume?
Assume appears 37 times per million words in written English, the 2,618th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce assume?
- /əˈsjuːm/
- /əˈʃuːm/
- /əˈsum/
Assume has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-assume.ogg, En-us-assume.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with assume
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of assume
- assumes present, singular, he/she/it
- assuming participle, present
- assumed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does assume mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Assume in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | supposer, présupposer, présumer, assumer , adopter |
| German | annehmen, voraussetzen, vermuten, unterstellen , aufnehmen |
| Portuguese | supor, pressupor, presumir , assumir |
| Spanish | suponer, dar por sentado , asumir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does assume come from?
From Latin assūmō (“accept, take”), from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + sūmō (“take up, assume”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).