noun
- something assumed or taken for granted beforehand; a prior assumption that underlies an argument or statement
- in linguistics, a proposition that must be true for a statement to be either true or false
Usage: commonly used in logic, philosophy, and linguistics
Usage: technical term in semantics and pragmatics
Examples
- The argument's presupposition that all humans are rational is debatable.
- Her presupposition was that everyone had access to the internet.
- The question 'Have you stopped cheating?' carries the presupposition that you were cheating.
- Without examining our presuppositions, we risk building arguments on false foundations.
- The presupposition underlying the study was that education improves earning potential.
- In logic, identifying unstated presuppositions is crucial to evaluating an argument's strength.