presupposition

CIDE DICTIONARY

presupposition, n. [Pref. pre- + supposition: cf. F. présupposition.].

•  The act of presupposing; an antecedent implication; presumption.  [1913 Webster]
•  That which is presupposed; a previous supposition or surmise.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

presupposition, n.
1 the act or an instance of presupposing.
2 a thing assumed beforehand as the basis of argument etc.

Etymology

med.L praesuppositio (as PRAE-, supponere as SUPPOSE)

THESAURUS

presupposition

a priori principle, act, affect, affirmation, allegory, allusion, apriorism, arcane meaning, assertion, assumed position, assumption, avant-propos, axiom, basis, beguile, belief, bluff, breakthrough, categorical proposition, coloration, conjecture, connotation, conviction, counterfeit, data, deceive, deduction, delude, exordium, fake, feign, first principles, forejudgment, foreword, foundation, front matter, frontispiece, ground, guess, guesswork, hint, hypothesis, hypothesis ad hoc, implication, implied meaning, import, inference, innovation, innuendo, intimation, introduction, ironic suggestion, judgment, leap, lemma, major premise, make believe, meaning, metaphorical sense, minor premise, mislead, nuance, occult meaning, opinion, overtone, overture, parti pris, philosopheme, philosophical proposition, posit, position, postulate, postulation, postulatum, preamble, preapprehension, preconception, preconclusion, preconsideration, predecision, predetermination, predilection, predisposition, preface, prefix, prefixture, prejudgment, prejudication, prejudice, preliminary, prelude, premature judgment, premise, prenotion, prepossession, presume, presumption, presupposal, presurmise, pretend, proem, profess, prolegomena, prolegomenon, prolepsis, prologue, proposition, propositional function, protasis, purport, put on, set of postulates, sham, simulate, statement, subsense, subsidiary sense, suggestion, sumption, supposal, suppose, supposing, supposition, surmise, symbolism, theorem, thesis, think, tinge, touch, truth table, truth-function, truth-value, undercurrent, undermeaning, undertone, verse, view, voluntary, working hypothesis

ROGET THESAURUS

presupposition

Supposition

N supposition, assumption, assumed position, postulation, condition, presupposition, hypothesis, blue sky hypothesis, postulate, postulatum, theory, thesis, theorem, data, proposition, position, proposal, presumption, divination, conjecture, guess, guesswork, speculation, rough guess, shot, shot in the dark, conjecturality, surmise, suspicion, sneaking suspicion, estimate, approximation (nearness), inkling, suggestion, hint, intimation, notion, impression, bare supposition, vague supposition, loose supposition, loose suggestion, association of ideas, (analogy), metonym, metonymy, simile (metaphor), conceit, idea, thought, original idea, invention (imagination), supposing, given, mooted, postulatory, assumed, supposititious, suppositive, suppositious, gratuitous, speculative, conjectural, hypothetical, theoretical, academic, supposable, presumptive, putative, suppositional, suggestive, allusive, if, if so be, an, on the supposition, ex hypothesi, in the case, in the event of, quasi, as if, provided, perhaps, for aught one knows.