POSTULATE
Dictionary entry overview: What does postulate mean?
• POSTULATE (noun)
The noun POSTULATE has 1 sense:
1. (logic) a proposition that is accepted as true in order to provide a basis for logical reasoning
Familiarity information: POSTULATE used as a noun is very rare.
• POSTULATE (verb)
The verb POSTULATE has 3 senses:
1. maintain or assert
2. take as a given; assume as a postulate or axiom
3. require as useful, just, or proper
Familiarity information: POSTULATE used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• POSTULATE (noun)
Meaning:
(logic) a proposition that is accepted as true in order to provide a basis for logical reasoning
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
posit; postulate
Hypernyms ("postulate" is a kind of...):
proposition ((logic) a statement that affirms or denies something and is either true or false)
Domain category:
logic (the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "postulate"):
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)
• POSTULATE (verb)
Meaning:
Maintain or assert
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
contend; postulate
Context example:
He contended that Communism had no future
Hypernyms (to "postulate" is one way to...):
claim (assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Meaning:
Take as a given; assume as a postulate or axiom
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Synonyms:
postulate; posit
Context example:
He posited three basic laws of nature
Hypernyms (to "postulate" is one way to...):
presuppose; suppose (take for granted or as a given; suppose beforehand)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "postulate"):
assert; insist (assert to be true)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Meaning:
Require as useful, just, or proper
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Synonyms:
require; need; necessitate; demand; call for; postulate; involve; ask; take
Context examples:
It takes nerve to do what she did / success usually requires hard work / This job asks a lot of patience and skill / This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice / This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert / This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "postulate"):
claim; exact; take (take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs)
govern (require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood)
draw (require a specified depth for floating)
cost (require to lose, suffer, or sacrifice)
cry for; cry out for (need badly or desperately)
imply; involve (have as a necessary feature or consequence; entail)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
