Etymology : Middle English, from Middle French supposer, from Medieval Latin supponere , from Latin, to put under, substitute, from sub- + ponere to put; more at POSITION
Pronunciation : s&-pOz,
oftenest after
Function : verb
Date : 14th century
1. presume to be true, hypothesize; believe; think; consider as a possibility. suppose\sup*pose"\ , v. i. to make supposition; to think; to be of opinion. i. 15.suppose \sup*pose"\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. supposed ; p. pr. & vb. n. supposing.] [f. supposer; pref. sub- under + poser to place; -- corresponding in meaning to l. supponere, suppositum, to put under, to substitute, falsify, counterfeit. see:
pose.].
2. to represent to one's self, or state to another, not as true or real, but as if so, and with a view to some consequence or application which the reality would involve or admit of; to imagine or admit to exist, for the sake of argument or illustration; to assume to be true; as, let us suppose the earth to be the center of the system, what would be the result? suppose they take offence without a cause. when we have as great assurance that a thing is, as we could possibly, supposing it were, we ought not to make any doubt of its existence.
3. to imagine; to believe; to receive as true. how easy is a bush supposed a bear! let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men, the king's sons; for amnon only is dead. xiii.
4. 3. to require to exist or to be true; to imply by the laws of thought or of nature; as, purpose supposes foresight. one falsehood always supposes another, and renders all you can say suspected. --female quixote.
5. to put by fraud in the place of another. [obs.].
6. To represent to one's self, or state to another, not as true or real, but as if so, and with a view to some consequence or application which the reality would involve or admit of; to imagine or admit to exist, for the sake of argument or illustration; to assume to be true; as, let us suppose the earth to be the center of the system, what would be the result? To imagine; to believe; to receive as true.
7. To require to exist or to be true; to imply by the laws of thought or of nature; as, purpose supposes foresight.
8. To put by fraud in the place of another.
9. To make supposition; to think; to be of opinion.
10. Supposition. express a supposition; "Let us say that he did not tell the truth"; "Let's say you had a lot of money--what would you do?".
11. 1. You can use suppose or supposing before mentioning a possible situation or action. You usually then go on to consider the effects that this situation or action might have. Suppose someone gave you an egg and asked you to describe exactly what was inside Supposing he's right and I do die tomorrow? Maybe I should take out an extra insurance policy.
12. If you suppose that something is true, you believe that it is probably true, because of other things that you know. The policy is perfectly clear and I see:
no reason to suppose that it isn't working It had been supposed that by then Peter would be married.
13. vagueness You can say `I suppose' when you want to express slight uncertainty. I get a bit uptight these days. Hormones, I suppose I suppose I'd better do some homework Is that the right way up? --- Yeah. I suppose so There's nothing to keep us here, is there? --- I suppose not.
14. feelings You can say `I suppose' or `I don't suppose' before describing someone's probable thoughts or attitude, when you are impatient or slightly angry with them. I suppose you think you're funny.
15. politeness You can say `I don't suppose' as a way of introducing a polite request. I don't suppose you could tell me where James Street is could you?.
16. You can use `do you suppose' to introduce a question when you want someone to give their opinion about something, although you know that they are unlikely to have any more knowledge or information about it than you. Do you suppose he was telling the truth?.
17. politeness You can use `do you suppose' as a polite way of suggesting or requesting that someone does something. Do you suppose we could get together for a little chat sometime soon?.