postulate

[pos-chuh-leyt, pos-chuh-lit, -leyt]

verb (used with object)

postulated, postulating 

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

1. See axiom

postulate

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

Other Word Forms

• postulation noun
• postulational adjective
• repostulate noun
• repostulation noun
• unpostulated 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

“It really is a reality check for all this political theory and political hype that we have going on in this country with the extreme left postulating these theories that have no connection to reality.”

From Salon

Second, Louis Pasteur advanced the germ theory of disease, which postulated that microbes can cause illness.

From Salon

Researchers postulate that repeated exposure of this sort allowed the virus to push into the cells — a brute force entry more than a lock-picking.

From Los Angeles Times

The physicists postulate that the color-charged black holes could have affected the balance of fusing nuclei, in a way that astronomers might someday detect with future measurements.

From Science Daily

It has since been postulated that so-called cognitive reserve might account for this differential protective effect in individuals.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• hypothesize 
• posit 
• presuppose 
• theorize