beg the question

1. To assume what has still to be proved: “To say that we should help the region's democratic movement begs the question of whether it really is democratic.”

Idioms and Phrases

Take for granted or assume the truth of the very thing being questioned. For example, Shopping now for a dress to wear to the ceremony is really begging the question—she hasn't been invited yet. This phrase, whose roots are in Aristotle's writings on logic, came into English in the late 1500s. In the 1990s, however, people sometimes used the phrase as a synonym of “ask the question” (as in The article begs the question: “What are we afraid of?”).

Example Sentences

And it begs the question, why are we doing this and who is it for?

From Los Angeles Times

It may not quite beg the question of whether Liverpool actually need to make such a lavish outlay on another striker, but it will give Slot a conundrum to solve.

From BBC

It's a mess, and it begs the question about who has making the big decisions.

From BBC

Which begs the question: Can there ever be another Martha Stewart?

From Salon

That begs the question of who could afford him?

From BBC

Related Words

• avoid 
• bypass 
• circumvent 
• conceal 
• deceive 
• dodge 
• elude 
• escape 
• fend off www.thesaurus.com
• flee 
• get around 
• hide 
• sidestep