Definition of PREMISE (original) (raw)

Examples of premise in a Sentence

Noun

Called behavioral ecology, it starts from the premise that social and environmental forces select for various behaviors that optimize people's fitness in a given environment. Different environment, different behaviors—and different human "natures." —Sharon Begley, Newsweek, 29 June 2009 Although the Voting Rights Act served, in some measure, to formalize the notion of racial representation, its consequences undermined its premise—that a transparency of interests existed between the representative and the represented. —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New Yorker, 24 Oct. 1994 Thirty years ago the modesty of the general expectation was still consistent with the original American premise of self-government. —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1992

They were asked to leave the premises. The company leases part of the premises to smaller businesses. The premises were searched by the police. He disagreed with her premise. the basic premises of the argument a theory based on the simple premise that what goes up must come down Verb

Niebuhr … adhered to a form of liberalism more premised on a realistic assessment of human nature than Rauschenbusch's naïve progressivism was. —Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review, 21 Oct. 2007 Fears of a nuclear holocaust were fueled by President Nixon's "madman" theory of diplomacy. The madman theory was premised on the assumption that if the Soviets thought that Nixon was crazy enough to drop the bomb, they would leave us alone. —Will Manley, Booklist, 1 & 15 June 2006

let us premise certain things, such as every person's need for love, before beginning our line of reasoning

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Its premises were damaged by the explosion, though no injuries were reported. —Oscar Holland, CNN, 31 Jan. 2025 The premise is simple, and writer/director Nicholas Stoller (Neighbors, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To The Greek) is skilled enough to basically take it from the setup and let his stars do their thing. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2025

While modern-day Junkanoo appears to be a fun-loving mix of tradition and tourist fete, its colorful vibrancy has deep origins premised in Black liberation. —Sasha C. Wells / Made By History, TIME, 26 Dec. 2024 The Crown is premised on the possibility of getting to listen in on imagined conversations between royals behind closed doors, but its imagination in that area is generally sympathetic. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for premise