Emily Dickinson Lexicon

assume (-d, -ing, -s), v. [L. ad-, to + sūměre, take.] (webplay: claims, law, presumption, take).

1. Believe; posit; infer; judge; appraise; evaluate; suppose as fact.
2. Usurp; confiscate; overtake; expropriate; use without asking the owner; adopt as one's own without permission.
3. Shoulder; support; sustain; carry responsibility for.
4. Affect; accept; pick up; put on; choose to go with; [fig.] clothe oneself with.