presumed 1 of 2

adjective

as in apparent
appearing to be true on the basis of evidence that may or may not be confirmed the presumed culprit

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

presumed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of presume
1
as in assumed
to form an opinion from little or no evidence I presume you'll fly if you do go

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in said
to take as true or as a fact without actual proof we should presume that a person is innocent until proven guilty

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of presumed
Adjective
The presumed reasoning behind why the film was ignored is multilayered. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 8 Aug. 2025
Verb
The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. — Bytony Atkins, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026 Society perceives fathers who kill to be evil, but certain mothers appear to be presumed mentally ill. — Dr. Susan Hatters Friedman, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026 Throwing a stiff arm on Patrick Mahomes’ presumed flavor of choice is hardly tasteless. — Jess Bryant, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 79% of the state’s jail population are unsentenced and waiting for trial, meaning the vast majority of inmates in jail are people still presumed innocent. — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Biological parents who create embryos are presumed to be the parents in any dispute. — Arthur L. Caplan, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026 An indictment contains only allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 The students are presumed to have been killed, but only bone fragments of three of them have ever been identified. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 17 Aug. 2026 The operation has come under scrutiny, sparking questions as to whether those left on the decoy plane presumed to still be carrying the President were at risk. — Tiago Ventura, Time, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for presumed
  1. apparent
  2. assumed
  3. said
  4. supposed
  5. guessed
  6. believed
  7. possible
  8. suspected
Adjective
  • This led to a segment on Newsmax in which anchor Carl Higbie deleted one Jelly Roll song from his phone on air, demonstrating the apparent righteous power of tapping a touch-screen button.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Colleges put limits on the right of students and teachers to express points of view that departed from this new apparent consensus.
    — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of apparent
Verb
  • At the extreme upper end, the study found that a maximum possible prevalence of CTE — if researchers assumed that every former football player had CTE except for the 20 whose brains had definitively been cleared of a diagnosis — was around 97%.
    — Becky Sullivan, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Taylor has quickly assumed a leadership role, with her coach using her as an example of expectations.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of assumed
Verb
  • Over the following two and a half years, the data center will incrementally ramp its load up to a minimum bill demand of 480 megawatts with a maximum contract demand of 600 megawatts, the memo said.
    — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
  • An attorney representing Matthew Mayich’s family said Arizona State University is mishandling the investigation into the hockey player’s collapse and hospitalization and called on members of the coaching staff to be put on administrative leave.
    — Nathan Fenno, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of said
Adjective
  • But clearly any supposed rivalry between the legendary bands is water under the bridge.
    — Peter Gicas, Entertainment Weekly, 14 July 2026
Definition of supposed
Verb
  • One person in the audience counted seven bidders and guessed that anyone serious about winning would have been advised to go way, way above the estimate.
    — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Abdeen guessed that they were drawn to the familiar symbols that the Masons borrowed from what the French had dubbed the Orient, such as the tarboosh, a brimless and tasselled hat.
    — Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of guessed
Verb
  • Yields dipped and then rebounded in the wake of the Treasury buyback move, a signal that bond investors believed Bessent's moves were inadequate.
    — Alex Harring, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Schmitt believed that the respective hegemons of the Grossräume should dominate coercively if necessary.
    — Leonard A. Schuette, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of believed
Adjective
  • Sunlight Place the plant in a sunny window, south-facing if possible, and give it four to six hours of sunlight each day.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Carley Garner, a commodity market strategist and broker at DeCarley Trading, said smaller futures and oil ETFs such as the United States Oil Fund (ticker USO) have made speculation possible for traders at almost any level of experience or funding.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of possible
Verb
  • The Sacramento Police Department will hold a DUI checkpoint Friday night to identify drivers suspected of being impaired by alcohol or drugs.
    — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Medical experts at the time suspected her death was caused by a brain abnormality that ruptured because of the intensity of the ride.
    — Blake Ellis, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of suspected

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Cite this Entry

“Presumed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presumed. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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