Suppose
verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 To take for granted; to conclude, with less than absolute supporting data; to believe. intransitive, transitive
"I suppose we all agree that this is the best solution."
- 2 expect, believe, or suppose wordnet
- 3 To theorize or hypothesize. transitive
"Suppose that A implies B and B implies C. Then A implies C."
- 4 to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds wordnet
- 5 To imagine; to believe; to receive as true. transitive
"How easy is a bush supposed a bear!"
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 require as a necessary antecedent or precondition wordnet
- 7 To reckon to be, to account or esteem as. obsolete, transitive
"[He] keeps you from the honors of a Queene, Being ſuppoſde his worthleſſe Concubine."
- 8 take for granted or as a given; suppose beforehand wordnet
- 9 To require to exist or to be true; to imply by the laws of thought or of nature. transitive
"Purpose supposes foresight."
- 10 express a supposition wordnet
- 11 To put by fraud in the place of another; to substitute fraudulently. obsolete, transitive
"A Water-monster, called the Nickard, does enter by night the chamber, where a woman is brought to bed, and stealeth when they are all sleeping, the new-born child and supposeth another in its place, which child growing up is like a monster and commonly dumb."
Example
More examples"I suppose it's different when you think about it over the long term."
Etymology
From Middle English supposen, borrowed from Old French supposer, equivalent to prefix sub- (“under”) + poser (“to place”); corresponding in meaning to Latin supponere (“to put under, to substitute, falsify, counterfeit”), suppositum. See pose.
Related phrases
More for "suppose"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.