Library / English Dictionary

POSTULATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(logic) a proposition that is accepted as true in order to provide a basis for logical reasoning

Synonyms:

posit; postulate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("postulate" is a kind of...):

proposition ((logic) a statement that affirms or denies something and is either true or false)

Domain category:

logic (the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "postulate"):

Bayes' postulate ((statistics) the difficulty of applying Bayes' theorem is that the probabilities of the different causes are seldom known, in which case it may be postulated that they are all equal (sometimes known as postulating the equidistribution of ignorance))

assumption; premise; premiss (a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn)

Derivation:

postulate (take as a given; assume as a postulate or axiom)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Take as a given; assume as a postulate or axiom

Example:

He posited three basic laws of nature

Synonyms:

posit; postulate

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "postulate" is one way to...):

presuppose; suppose (take for granted or as a given; suppose beforehand)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "postulate"):

assert; insist (postulate positively and assertively)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

postulate ((logic) a proposition that is accepted as true in order to provide a basis for logical reasoning)

postulation ((logic) a declaration of something self-evident; something that can be assumed as the basis for argument)

postulator (someone who assumes or takes something for granted as the basis of an argument)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Maintain or assert

Example:

He contended that Communism had no future

Synonyms:

contend; postulate

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "postulate" is one way to...):

claim (assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 3

Meaning:

Require as useful, just, or proper

Example:

This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent

Synonyms:

ask; call for; demand; involve; necessitate; need; postulate; require; take

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Verb group:

claim; exact; take (take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "postulate"):

claim; exact; take (take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs)

govern (require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood)

draw (require a specified depth for floating)

cost (require to lose, suffer, or sacrifice)

cry for; cry out for (need badly or desperately)

compel (necessitate or exact)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

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