How to Use presume in a Sentence

presume

verb
  • The court must presume innocence until there is proof of guilt.
  • The three are presumed to be dead.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 29 May 2026
  • You are presumed to be not guilty.
    — Peter D'oench, CBS News, 1 June 2026
  • Both men were presumed drowned.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 6 May 2026
  • It is presumed to have been melted down and sold.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 20 Nov. 2025
  • They have never been found, and they are presumed to be dead.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
  • She, her wife and all six children are known or presumed dead.
    — OregonLive.com, 21 Apr. 2018
  • Those eggs are presumed to be the source of the virus, Warheit said.
    — Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, 19 May 2018
  • Guys like Fred, who presume to know what guys like me think and feel.
    — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 13 June 2018
  • This is an in-depth film about a person many presumed had no depth at all.
    — Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2023
  • It is presumed that the main cast will all reprise their roles — with the same crew at the helm.
    — Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Noel was last seen in 2022 and is presumed dead.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
  • This led some fans to presume the big news was an engagement.
    — Megan Friedman, Good Housekeeping, 11 Apr. 2018
  • They would rather be treated like children than be presumed to be adults.
    — Amelia Hamilton, National Review, 20 Oct. 2017
  • Neolithic kids are presumed to have played with sticks and clay balls.
    — Emily Matchar, Smithsonian, 14 June 2019
  • Like me, they are fed up with people who presume to speak for the disabled.
    — refinery29.com, 13 July 2018
  • At least one of the detainees who died is presumed to have died by suicide.
    — Laura Romero, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
  • To start, this presumes that the current protests are not achieving that aim.
    — Gregory Krieg, CNN, 11 Oct. 2017
  • At this stage, she is still presumed innocent.
    — Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Bankers, brokers and traders may presume that these units would deal with these types of matters.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2021
  • And why is that added to the total number of cases when they are presumed?
    — oregonlive, 25 May 2020
  • And what if the people presumed guilty from the start are allowed to be human?
    — Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2024
  • Song, presumed innocent until proven guilty, is not the stuff of trench coat cliché.
    — Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026
  • No one entered the classrooms, presuming that the doors were locked.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Jan. 2024
  • In 2015, the church burned in a fire presumed to be caused by arson.
    — AL.com, 25 Oct. 2017
  • Barusseau, who is from France, was born in 1909 and is presumed dead.
    — David Tarrant, Dallas News, 5 July 2019
  • Mingus is presumed innocent and has pled not guilty.
    — Ryan Coleman Updated, EW.com, 25 Aug. 2025
  • The boat owner’s son, a man in his 20s, is still missing and presumed drowned.
    — Charna Flam, People.com, 3 June 2025
  • And don’t presume it’s already insured.
    — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The Iguana is presumed retired, having not made a peep in over a year.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 10 July 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'presume.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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