"Presume" or "assume" .... ??? let's learn the difference.

In English, we have many words that have similar meanings and/or similar sounds. Many people do not actually learn the difference here and this includes natives. But since you are not a native and dont have the experience of hearing the usage as much as we do, it is important for you to study these subtle differences in our language.

Dexterity is a word that means ability and skillset. Learning these words and subtle differences is a huge benefit and provides you with verbal dexterity, allowing you to communicate with more precision and accuracy.

This will be a short post, so let’s dive in!

Definition and Meaning

• Presume: When you presume something, you believe it is true because you have some evidence or there is a good probability of it happening (which is similar to having some kind of evidence).

  • I presume he forgot about our lunch because he has been working a lot and doing many projects and has been forgetting many things.

  • She told me her phone battery was low and then the call ended, so I presume her phone died.

  • There has been lots of music and singing coming from my neighbor’s house, so I presume that they are having a party.

• Assume: Assuming something means accepting it as true without strong evidence or proof.

  • I assume she forgot about our lunch date because she didn't show up.

  • I assume her phone battery died because she is not using her phone at all.

  • I assume they are having a party since I see their lights on.

Basically, this is all you need to know, however, there are some additional points that you can consider if you want.

• Certainty

  • The level of certainty is also a factor here, but this is super obvious. Since the word presume is usually used when we have evidence or something to support our belief, this means that there is more certainty about our belief. On the contrary, the word assume is conveying less certainty about our belief since there is no evidence.

• formality/context

  • Presume is more formal, so this word is used more in professional settings. Whereas the word assume is usually the only word we use in informal situations. So in other words, use assume and presume when in formal settings, and when you are in informal settings, you can keep it simple and always use assume, if you want.

Summary

These words are good to know because they give you more precise communication skills. The difference between the two is whether or not we have evidence:

Assume = no evidence, just a guess

Presume = you have evidence and a reason to believe the statement

Also, when in informal situations, you can always use assume if you want.