premise.

a proposition on which an argument or inference is based

Use it for

Words that belong together

• central premise
• false premise
• accept a premise

On the page

The conclusion follows only if the second premise is true.

The author never establishes the argument's central premise.

Accepting this premise does not require accepting every proposed remedy.

Usage notes

Primary curation section: Academic. A premise supplies a starting claim, whereas a conclusion is what follows. Premises also has a separate building/property sense. Plural: premises. In the property sense, premises is normally plural in form.