Expect vs Presume - What's the difference?
expect | presume | Synonyms |
To look for (mentally); to look forward to, as to something that is believed to be about to happen or come; to have a previous apprehension of, whether of good or evil; to look for with some confidence; to anticipate; -- often followed by an infinitive, sometimes by a clause (with, or without, that).
*, chapter=13
, title= To consider obligatory or required.
To consider reasonably due.
To be pregnant, to consider a baby due.
(obsolete) To wait for; to await.
* (rfdate) (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616):
*1825 , (Walter Scott), , A. and C. Black (1868), 24-25:
(obsolete) To wait; to stay.
With infinitive object: to be so presumptuous as (to do something) without proper authority or permission.
To assume to be true (without proof); to take for granted, to suppose.
* 2011 , John Patterson, The Guardian , 5 Feb 2011:
To be presumptuous; with (on), (upon), to take advantage (of), to take liberties (with).
* 1994 , Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom , Abacus 2010, p. 75:
As verbs the difference between expect and presume
is that expect is to look for (mentally); to look forward to, as to something that is believed to be about to happen or come; to have a previous apprehension of, whether of good or evil; to look for with some confidence; to anticipate; -- often followed by an infinitive, sometimes by a clause (with, or without, that) while presume is to perform, do (something) without authority; to lay claim to without permission.expect
English
(Webster 1913)Verb
(en verb)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=“[…] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes.}}
- Let's in, and there expect their coming.
- The knight fixed his eyes on the opening with breathless anxiety, and continuing to kneel in the attitude of devotion which the place and scene required, expected the consequence of these preparations.
- (Sandys)
Usage notes
* Expect'' is a mental act and has always a reference to the future, to some coming event; as a person expects to die, or he expects to survive. ''Think]]'' and ''believe'' have reference to the past and present, as well as to the future; as I think the mail has arrived; I believe he came home yesterday, that he is he is at home now. There is a not uncommon use of ''expect'', which is a confusion of the two; as, I expect the mail has arrived; I expect he is at home. This misuse should be avoided. ''[[await, Await'' is a physical or moral act. We await that which, when it comes, will affect us personally. We expect what may, or may not, interest us personally. See ''anticipate . * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . SeeSynonyms
* anticipate * look for * await * hopeDerived terms
* expected adjective * expecting adjective * unexpectedStatistics
*External links
* * *Anagrams
* except 1000 English basic wordspresume
English
Alternative forms
* (archaic)Verb
(presum)- Don't make the decision yourself and presume too much.
- I wouldn't presume to tell him how to do his job.
- If we presume that human cloning may one day become a mundane, everyday reality, then maybe it's time to start thinking more positively about our soon-to-arrive genetically engineered pseudo-siblings.
- Piliso then vented his anger on us, accusing us of lying to him. He said we had presumed on his hospitality and the good name of the regent.