Definition of "presumption" []

• Behavior or attitude that is boldly arrogant or offensive; effrontery. (noun)
• The act of presuming or accepting as true. (noun)
• Acceptance or belief based on reasonable evidence; assumption or supposition. (noun)
• A condition or basis for accepting or presuming. (noun)
• Law A conclusion derived from a particular set of facts based on law, rather than probable reasoning. (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.

• "_presumption_ in favor of a proposition; not sufficient for belief, but sufficient to cause the strict principles of a regular induction to be dispensed with, and creating a predisposition to believe it on evidence which would be seen to be insufficient if no such presumption existed."
• "The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team that seems to have a significant amount of money to spend this summer, and the presumption is they'll see if Dallas can re-sign Derian Hatcher."
• "They can't say conclusively he's not alive, and the presumption is they must aggressively pursue every avenue of this case."