premise

premise — noun

1. an idea or statement treated as true and used as the starting point for an argum

1.nounC1
Definition

an idea or statement treated as true and used as the starting point for an argument, decision, or plan.

Example

The school board debate started from the premise that exams measure real ability.

premise that + clause

Her business plan rests on the premise that local shoppers value speed.

rests on the premise that

Common collocations
  • basic premise
  • false premise
  • main premise
  • rest on the premise that
  • work on the premise that
Synonyms
  • assumption

    broader and more common; it may be unstated

  • basis

    wider in meaning and not always a stated idea

  • proposition

    more technical and often used in logic

Antonyms
  • conclusion

    what follows from the starting idea, not the starting idea itself

Grammar Patterns

the premise that + clause

on the premise that + clause

rest on a premise

a false premise

Usage Note

Often appears in formal discussion with patterns like premise that ... and on the premise that .... Distinguish from assumption: a premise is a specific starting point that an argument or plan is built on.

Common Mistakes

The plan was based on the promise that sales would grow.
The plan was based on the premise that sales would grow.
'premise' names a starting idea in reasoning; 'promise' is something someone says they will do.

premise — verb

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun/1, premise is a formal word for a statement or idea used as the starting point in reasoning. Assumption is broader and more common in everyday English; it can be any belief accepted without proof. Basis is wider still, because it may be a fact, reason, or support rather than a clearly stated claim. Principle usually means a general rule or moral belief, not one step in an argument. In debate, logic, and academic writing, premise is the most exact choice when you want to focus on the idea a conclusion grows from. You can say The study rests on the assumption that sleep helps memory, but The argument fails because its first premise is false.

premise ↗assumption ↗basis ↗principle ↗

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinOld FrenchMiddle English

'Premise' came into English in the late Middle English period through Old French and Medieval Latin from the Latin verb praemittere, meaning 'send before' or 'put before'. Early uses referred to something stated in advance, which matches the modern noun sense of a starting statement or assumption. The verb later developed from the noun and kept the same idea of building later reasoning on something placed first.