Presume or assume
When do you
presume, and when do you assume? These two words are often used
interchangeably, likely because they come from the same Latin root and are used
in similar contexts. However, there are subtle differences in meaning between
the two. Today we put all assumptions aside, and get to the bottom presume and
assume.
Both of these
terms mean “to take for granted” or “suppose,” but presume conveys a little
more confidence based on probability, reasonable grounds, or evidence. Assume
is to take for granted without proof. In other words, something you presume is
more likely to be true than something you assume.
Both terms
derive from the Latin sūmere meaning “to take up.” The Latin assūmere means “to
take to oneself; adopt.” Praesūmere, incorporating the prefix prae- meaning
“before,” means “to take upon oneself beforehand; to anticipate.”
The famous
expression “Dr. Livingston, I presume” sheds further light on the difference
between these terms. This line was delivered by British American journalist and
explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley in 1871 when he arrived in Tanzania and
located David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and explorer whom several
search parties had been sent to find as he had not been heard from for several
years. Upon meeting Livingstone, Stanley remarked, “Dr. Livingstone, I
presume.” Stanley’s use of presume is appropriate because Livingstone was, at
the time, the only white European in the area, giving Stanley reasonable
grounds on which to make such a presumption.
If you still
aren’t sure how presume and assume are really any different, you aren’t alone.
The key to deciphering between assume and presume is to understand that these
two terms convey different degrees of certainty. However, in modern English,
presume and assume are considered close enough in meaning to stand as
substitutes for one another when you want to say “to take something as true,”
so rest assured that your audience will still understand the intention of your
sentence if you accidentally confuse the two.
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