supposition
/ˌsʌpəˈzɪʃ(ə)n
/noun
A belief held without proof or certain knowledge; an assumption or hypothesis: they were working on the supposition that his death was murder [mass noun]: their outrage was based on supposition and hearsay...
- Hypotheses, suppositions tentatively accepted, help the therapist to focus on what seems most relevant at that moment.
- There is no direct evidence, and what follows is too contingent on a series of hypothetical suppositions to be convincing.
- In most cases, however, this kind of mutual informing included only assumptions and suppositions.
Synonyms
belief, surmise, idea, notion, suspicion, conjecture, speculation, view, inference, theory, thesis, hypothesis, postulation, guess, guesswork, feeling, hunch, assumption, presumption
Derivatives
suppositional
- Willingness to understand differences at the suppositional level can also generate goodwill.
Origin
Late Middle English (as a term in scholastic logic): from Old French, or from late Latin suppositio(n-) (translating Greek hupothesis 'hypothesis'), from the verb supponere (see suppose).