What does presumptuous mean?
Word: Presumptuous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Presumptuous means too sure of yourself, and doing something without having the right to do it.
Synonyms: overconfident, impertinent
How do you spell presumptuous?
Syllables: pre - sump - tu - ous
Tricky part: Pupils hear shus at the end and write presumptious. The letters before ous are tu.
Watch out for: presumptious, presumtuous, presumptous
Memory tip: Think tutor, not tiger: the letters before ous are tu.
Presumptuous in a sentence
Example 1: It was presumptuous of Neil to choose the team before the captain arrived.
Example 2: I hope it is not presumptuous to offer my own idea for the school play.
Example 3: The presumptuous visitor sat down in the head teacher's chair.
Fun Fact
The word comes from a Latin verb meaning to take beforehand, which fits: a presumptuous person takes something before it is offered.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
pr_s_mptuous
a) a, u
b) e, u
c) i, u
d) e, o
Show answer
b) e, u. The start is pre, and the u before the mp matches the u in jump.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
presumpptuous
a) t
b) s
c) m
d) p
Show answer
d) p. One p is enough, and it is often barely heard.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
It seemed oupsturmpeus of him to give orders on his very first day.
a) pretentious
b) presumptuous
c) prestigious
d) precarious
Show answer
b) presumptuous. Only one of these has three u letters, as the jumble does.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word presumptuous as used in the sentence:
It was presumptuous of Kabir to plan the whole class outing without asking anyone.
a) bold
b) audacious
c) modest
d) arrogant
Show answer
c) modest. A modest person would ask first; the other three lean the same way as the word in the sentence.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which remark would sound presumptuous from a new member of a club?
a) I am glad to be joining all of you.
b) Could you show me where the forms are?
c) I will be running this place by March.
d) Please tell me if I am in the way.
Show answer
c) I will be running this place by March.
2. What makes an action presumptuous and not merely confident?
a) It is done in front of a large crowd.
b) It has been practised many times before.
c) It goes beyond what you have a right to do.
d) It takes a long time to finish properly.
Show answer
c) It goes beyond what you have a right to do.
