Definition of "assumption" []

• The act of taking to or upon oneself: assumption of an obligation. (noun)
• The act of taking possession or asserting a claim: assumption of command. (noun)
• The act of taking for granted: assumption of a false theory. (noun)
• Something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof; a supposition: a valid assumption. (noun)
• Presumption; arrogance. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The built in assumption is that market forces and normal human nature can regulate the behaviours of individuals, companies and nations so that peace and prosperity will reign without those pesky elected bozos ruining everything."
• "The most convincing response: Because the assumption is a very close approximation to the truth, so the marginal benefits of increased accuracy are less than the marginal costs of increased complexity."
• "This assumption is the reason, I think, why some white people shy away from books with black people on the covers."