HOW TO PRONOUNCE
presumptive
/pɹiˈzʌm(p)tɪv/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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What does presumptive mean?
adjective
- Based on presumption or conjecture; inferred, likely, presumed.
- Often postpositive, as in heir presumptive: of an heir or heiress: presumed to be entitled to inherit unless someone with a superior entitlement is born.
- Of a cell or tissue: which has yet to differentiate, but is presumed to develop into a particular body part.
More meanings (2)
adjective
- Synonym of presumptuous (“making unwarranted presumptions or assumptions, often out of arrogance or excessive self-confidence, and thus exceeding what is appropriate or right”).
- Chiefly in presumptive evidence: providing a reasonable basis for a certain presumption or conclusion to be drawn.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/pɹiˈzʌm(p)tɪv/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
Although the presumptive signs which we have considered by no means exhaust the list, all the others are totally untrustworthy.
The heir presumptive, the very William Walter Elliot, Esq., whose rights had been so generously supported by her father, had disappointed her.
More book examples (3)
In the case of strongly marked races of some other domesticated species, there is presumptive or even strong evidence that all are descended from a single wild stock.
This use being not lucrative, but on the whole pretty consistently wasteful, and quite conspicuously so, it is honorific, and therefore gives the fast horse a strong presumptive position of reputability.
The signs of pregnancy are divided into the presumptive, the probable, and the positive.