postulate

[ verb pos-chuh-leyt; noun pos-chuh-lit, -leyt ]

verb (used with object)

, pos·tu·lat·ed, pos·tu·lat·ing.

1. to ask, demand, or claim.
2. to claim or assume the existence or truth of, especially as a basis for reasoning or arguing.
3. to assume without proof, or as self-evident; take for granted.

   Synonyms: conjecture, presuppose, hypothecate

4. Mathematics, Logic. to assume as a postulate.

noun

1. something taken as self-evident or assumed without proof as a basis for reasoning.

   Synonyms: conjecture, assumption, axiom, theory, hypothesis

2. Mathematics, Logic. a proposition that requires no proof, being self-evident, or that is for a specific purpose assumed true, and that is used in the proof of other propositions; axiom.
3. a fundamental principle.
4. a necessary condition; prerequisite.

postulate

verb

1. to assume to be true or existent; take for granted
2. to ask, demand, or claim
3. to nominate (a person) to a post or office subject to approval by a higher authority

noun

1. something taken as self-evident or assumed as the basis of an argument
2. a necessary condition or prerequisite
3. a fundamental principle
4. logic maths an unproved and indemonstrable statement that should be taken for granted: used as an initial premise or underlying hypothesis in a process of reasoning

postulate

/ pŏs′chə-lĭt /

1. See axiom

postulate

1. A statement accepted as true for the purposes of argument or scientific investigation; also, a basic principle. ( See axiom .)

Derived Forms

• ˌpostuˈlation, noun

Other Words From

• postu·lation noun
• postu·lation·al adjective
• re·postu·late verb (used with object) repostulated repostulating
• re·postu·late noun
• repos·tu·lation noun
• un·postu·lated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of postulate¹

1525–35; < Latin postulātum petition, thing requested, noun use of neuter of past participle of postulāre to request, demand, akin to pōscere to request

Word History and Origins

Origin of postulate¹

C16: from Latin postulāre to ask for, require; related to pōscere to request

Example Sentences

Even people who postulate a creative God usually acknowledge that his existence shifts the big question rather than resolving it.

From The Daily Beast

While the war lasted, so he laid down, there must—apart from the postulate of Unity—be a truce to party struggles.

From Project Gutenberg

He receives as a postulate that which I must have demonstrated.

From Project Gutenberg

But I disagree with them all, because they postulate the idea that time is constantly being manufactured.

From Project Gutenberg

Mark Twain's early life, however imperfectly recorded, exemplifies this postulate.

From Project Gutenberg

All theologians and some metaphysicians postulate a fifth state of life, the divine, placing it above the rest as their source.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• hypothesize
• posit
• presuppose
• theorize