premised

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of premise.

   The committee premised its forecast on stable fuel prices.

   His defense was premised on an alibi that later collapsed.

   Note

   Behind the participle stands a verb with two lines of meaning. In argument, to premise is to put a proposition forward as the ground for reasoning, the way a premise opens a syllogism and leads to its conclusion. More broadly, it means to set something out beforehand, as an introduction that helps explain what follows. The same spelling also serves as the adjective, whose usual partner is on.

2. 2
   adjectivewith on

   Having a particular stated premise; resting on a specified assumption or starting point.

   The two essays were oddly premised, each starting from a claim the other rejected.

   A poorly premised theory rarely survives close scrutiny.

   Similargrounded, founded, based

   Note

   The adjective nearly always takes on, and on introduces the foundation: a plan premised on cheap labor, a film premised on a single coincidence. Without on, it leans on an adverb instead (oddly premised, poorly premised). It can also be graded, so one argument may be more premised on hope than another. That adverb or comparison is what separates it from a plain passive verb.

   The whole campaign was premised on a quick victory.

   Her proposal is more premised on goodwill than on any budget.

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