a necessary assumption

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a necessary assumption" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing a premise or belief that must be accepted for an argument or conclusion to hold true. Example: "In order to validate the theory, we must first establish a necessary assumption about the initial conditions."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

Academia

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

25 human-written examples

The Psychological Unconscious: A Necessary Assumption for All Psychological Theory?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A necessary assumption of the SSIM is that stress and strength are independent.

Procedia Engineering

Typically, inapproximability results are conditional on P!=NP, a necessary assumption since "all" combinatorial optimization problems are tractable if P=NP.

Stanford University

Nevertheless, it is not a necessary assumption of evolutionary theory that every feature of every organism is adapted to some purpose, much less optimally adapted.

Encyclopedia Britannica

A necessary assumption in serving the slow-food variety of fried chicken is that the people waiting for it in the dining room are waiting with people they don't mind waiting with.

The New Yorker

We also comment on the conjecture that for any number of stages the problem has finitely many solutions, which is a necessary assumption for the proposed methods to converge.

Automatica

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

35 human-written examples

Finally, the concept of a columnar receptive field itself is not a strictly necessary assumption of the model; we also consider a more general scenario without this assumption later.

Biological Cybernetics

Clearly, ( V ( G ) ε 0, ≺ ∗ ) is a partially ordered set with all necessary assumptions to secure the existence of a minimal element x ∗ for ≺∗.

Fixed Point Theory and Applications

Through a minimized and necessary assumption of modeling process (e.g., the lumped model of fuel assembly), a geometry model was employed to solve the problem of conjugate heat transfer coupled with thermal radiation.

Annals of Nuclear Energy

Hence, a reasonable and necessary assumption is that the problem (P NR ) is feasible.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

The work presented in this paper, based on the regularity for solution of (1.1), investigates necessary and sufficient conditions for the approximate controllability for (1.1) with the strict range condition on B even though the system (1.1) contains unbounded principal operators and the convolution nonlinear term, which is a more flexible necessary assumption than the one in [2].

Advances in Difference Equations

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "a necessary assumption", clearly state the assumption and explain why it's essential for your argument or analysis to avoid ambiguity and ensure that your audience understands the foundation upon which your reasoning rests.

Common error

Avoid simply stating that something is "a necessary assumption" without providing adequate justification. Failing to explain why the assumption is necessary can weaken your argument and leave your audience unconvinced.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a necessary assumption" functions as a noun phrase that introduces a premise, condition, or belief considered essential for a particular argument, theory, or model. This phrase signals that what follows is not merely a possibility, but a fundamental requirement. Ludwig AI confirms this usage with numerous examples across diverse contexts.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

40%

Academia

40%

News & Media

20%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "a necessary assumption" introduces a fundamental requirement or condition for an argument, theory, or model to hold true. As indicated by Ludwig AI, this expression is most commonly found in scientific and academic contexts. When employing this phrase, clearly state and justify the assumption to strengthen your reasoning. While grammatically sound and widely understood, the frequency of this phrase is relatively rare. Related alternatives include "an essential assumption" and "a vital assumption", which can provide subtle variations in emphasis.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

an essential assumption

Replaces "necessary" with "essential", emphasizing the fundamental importance of the assumption.

a vital assumption

Substitutes "necessary" with "vital", stressing the crucial role of the assumption.

an indispensable assumption

Replaces "necessary" with "indispensable", highlighting that the assumption is absolutely required.

a requisite assumption

Uses "requisite" instead of "necessary", indicating that the assumption is a mandatory condition.

a mandatory assumption

Similar to 'requisite assumption', this emphasizes the enforced nature of the assumption.

a crucial presupposition

Employs "crucial" and "presupposition", highlighting the critical nature of the underlying belief.

an underlying premise

Shifts focus to the foundation of the argument by using "underlying premise".

a foundational belief

Focuses on the belief aspect, indicating that it serves as a base for further reasoning.

a basic postulate

Replaces "assumption" with "postulate", implying a statement accepted as true without proof.

a fundamental tenet

Uses "fundamental tenet" to suggest a core principle that underpins a system of thought.

FAQs

How can I use "a necessary assumption" in a sentence?

You can use "a necessary assumption" to introduce a condition or belief that must be accepted for an argument to hold. For example, "A necessary assumption of this study is that participants answered honestly".

What's a good alternative to "a necessary assumption"?

Alternatives include "an essential assumption", "a vital assumption", or "an indispensable assumption", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

What distinguishes "a necessary assumption" from "a reasonable assumption"?

"A necessary assumption" is one that must be true for an argument to be valid. "A reasonable assumption" is one that is likely to be true based on available evidence, but is not strictly required for the argument's validity. It is more about plausibility than logical necessity.

When is it appropriate to state "a necessary assumption"?

It's appropriate when you're presenting an argument or analysis that relies on a specific condition being true, and you want to make that condition explicit. This ensures transparency and allows your audience to evaluate the validity of your reasoning.