presume
/pɹɪˈz(j)um/verb
presume is spelled P-R-E-S-U-M-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “assume vs presume” about 14,800 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, presume means “To be so presumptuous as (to do something) without proper authority or permission [with to (+ infinitive)]” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in presume?
| Letters | 7: P-R-E-S-U-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.2 times per million words; the 12,578th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is presume?
Presume appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th 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 presume?
- UK /pɹɪˈzjuːm/
- US /pɹɪˈz(j)um/
- US /pɹiˈz(j)um/
Presume 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-presume.ogg, En-us-presume.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with presume
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).
What rhymes with presume?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as presume from its last stressed vowel (/um/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: supreme.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of presume
- presumes present, singular, he/she/it
- presuming participle, present
- presumed participle, past
- præsume
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does presume mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 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
archaicTo perform, do (something) without authority; to lay claim to without permission.
Don't make the decision yourself and presume too much.
- 3
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.
- 4
To take as a premise; to assume for the sake of argument.
- 5
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: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Presume in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense 3. transitive: to assume to be true, suppose:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | présumer, supposer |
| German | annehmen, mutmaßen, vermuten |
| Portuguese | presumir, pressupor |
| Spanish | presumir |
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 presume come from?
From Middle English presumen, from Anglo-Norman presumer and its source, Latin praesūmere (“to take beforehand, anticipate”), from prae- + sūmere (“to take”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).