posit

/ˈpɑzət/

/ˈpɒzɪt/

Other forms: posited; posits; positing

To posit something is to assume or suggest that it is true. You can posit an idea or opinion.

When you posit, you submit an idea or give an opinion. Scientists posit many ideas — called hypotheses — that they then try to prove or disprove through experimentation and research. In science, you hear about positing a lot, and the same is true in math and logic. When you say "If X, then Y" you're positing a proposition. Positing can also mean to put something somewhere firmly — this means to deposit, fix, or situate.

Definitions of posit

1. verb

   take as a given; assume as a postulate or axiom
   “He posited three basic laws of nature”

   synonyms: postulate

   types:

   assert, insist

   assert to be true

   type of:

   presuppose, suppose

   take for granted or as a given; suppose beforehand
2. verb

   put before
   synonyms: put forward, state, submit

   type of:

   advise, propose, suggest

   make a proposal, declare a plan for something
3. verb

   put (something somewhere) firmly
   “She posited her hand on his shoulder”

   synonyms: deposit, fix, situate

   types:

   bury

   place in the earth and cover with soil

   sediment

   deposit as a sediment

   type of:

   lay, place, pose, position, put, set

   put into a certain place or abstract location
4. noun

   (logic) a proposition that is accepted as true in order to provide a basis for logical reasoning
   synonyms: postulate

   types:

   Bayes' postulate

   (statistics) the difficulty of applying Bayes' theorem is that the probabilities of the different causes are seldom known, in which case it may be postulated that they are all equal (sometimes known as postulating the equidistribution of ignorance)

   assumption, premise, premiss

   a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn

   major premise, major premiss

   the premise of a syllogism that contains the major term (which is the predicate of the conclusion)

   minor premise, minor premiss, subsumption

   the premise of a syllogism that contains the minor term (which is the subject of the conclusion)

   thesis

   an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument

   condition, precondition, stipulation

   an assumption on which rests the validity or effect of something else

   scenario

   a postulated sequence of possible events

   warrant

   (rhetoric) an assumption or underlying belief that connects evidence to a claim

   type of:

   proposition

   (logic) a statement that affirms or denies something and is either true or false