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orehand; esp., to do or undertake without leave or authority previously obtained. Dare he presume to scorn us in this manner Shak. Bold deed thou hast presumed, adventurous Eve. Milton.

By presumption.

One who presumes; also, an arrogant person. Sir H. Wotton.

Admission to sexual intercourse. During coverture, access of the husband shall be presumed, unless the contrary be shown. Blackstone.

embark in hazardous enterprise; rashly daring; -- applied to persons. Bold deed thou hast presumed, adventurous Eve. Milton.

o analyze a sentence or a word; to analyze an action to ascertain its morality. No one, I presume, can analyze the sensations of pleasure or pain. Darwin.

To dwell or live together as husband and wife. The law presumes that husband and wife cohabit together, even after a voluntary separation has taken place between them. Bouvier.

changeable; reciprocal. -- Com*mut"a*tive"ly, adv. Rich traders, from their success, are presumed . . . to have cultivated an habitual regard to commutative justice. Burke.

eclines. That empire must decline Whose chief support and sinews are of coin. Waller. And presume to know . . . Who thrives, and who declines. Shak.

To speak as a superior; to command; to impose conditions (on). Who presumed to dictate to the sovereign. Macaulay.

-- Natural father, the father of an illegitimate child. -- Putative father, one who is presumed to be the father of an illegitimate child; the supposed father. -- Spiritual father. (a) A religious teacher or guide, esp. one instrumental in leading a soul to God. (b) (R. C. Ch.) A priest who hears confession in the…

lence and arrogance; to chide or rebuke with insolence; to hector; to bully. You must not presume to huff us. Echard.

equal; to contend successfully against. Eternal might To match with their inventions they presumed So easy, and of his thunder made a scorn. Milton.

neck." Deut. xxxi. 27. -- To break the neck of, to destroy the main force of. "What they presume to borrow from her sage and virtuous rules... breaks the neck of their own cause." Milton. -- To harden the neck, to grow obstinate; to be more and more perverse and rebellious. Neh. ix. 17. -- To tread on the neck of, t…

To go beyond; to transcend; to transgress. If kings presume to overtop the law by which they reign, . . . they are by law to be reduced into order. Milton.

too highly; hence, to egotistic, arrogant, or rash, in opinion; to think conceitedly; to presume. They that overween, And at thy growing virtues fret their spleen. Milton.

or pain, lay it upon him. Bacon. Interpose, on pain of my displeasure. Dryden. None shall presume to fly, under pain of death. Addison.

o speak foolishly; to babble. To prate and talk for life and honor. Shak. And make a fool presume to prate of love. Dryden.

Such as may be presumed or supposed to be true; that seems entitled to belief without direct evidence.

That which is presumed or assumed; that which is supposed or believed to be real or true, on evidence that is probable but not conclusive. "In contradiction to these very plausible presumptions." De Quincey.