Meaning & use
unstated assumption
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Meaning
nouncountable
an idea that is taken for granted in an argument or plan but is not expressed openly
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'an' or in the plural: challenge the unstated assumptions.
Patterns
- an unstated assumption behind something
- make an unstated assumption
- challenge an unstated assumption
The report's conclusion rests on an unstated assumption that prices will stay stable.
Before accepting the theory, we should identify its unstated assumptions.
Her argument contains an unstated assumption that all readers share her values.
Word forms
| plural | unstated assumptions |
|---|
Common combinations
- rest on an unstated assumption
- The whole plan rests on an unstated assumption about funding.
- identify an unstated assumption
- Good critics identify the unstated assumptions in a text.
- challenge an unstated assumption
- The new study challenges an unstated assumption in economics.
- hidden assumption
- The phrase 'hidden assumption' is similar but emphasises that it is deliberately concealed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- implicit assumption
- Very close in meaning; 'implicit' stresses that the assumption is implied rather than stated, while 'unstated' simply says it is not spoken or written.
- tacit assumption
- Similar, but 'tacit' often suggests an unspoken agreement or understanding shared by people, not just a logical gap.
Opposites
Word family
- assume verb
- to accept something as true without proof
- assumption noun
- a thing that is accepted as true without proof
- unstated adjective
- not expressed in words
Commonly confused: unstated assumption or presumption?
unstated assumption vs presumption
A presumption is often a belief based on probability or legal inference; an unstated assumption is simply an unspoken premise in reasoning.
Practice
The theory relies on an ______ that consumers will always act rationally, though this is never mentioned.
Choose one answer.
An unstated assumption is an unspoken premise; a conclusion is what you reach, evidence supports a claim, and an argument is the whole reasoning, so none of the others fits the idea of an implicit premise.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unstated assumption”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.