asumir
verbCEFR B2
What does “asumir” mean in English?
to take on, to assume
to take on, to assume (a role, responsibility; or to treat as a working premise — asumir el cargo / asumir que)
Example sentences
La nueva directora asumió el cargo en un momento especialmente difícil para la organización.
The new director took on the post at a particularly difficult moment for the organisation.
Hay que asumir que no todos los escenarios previstos en el plan se van a cumplir con exactitud.
We must accept that not all the scenarios envisaged in the plan will materialise precisely.
El Estado debe asumir la responsabilidad de proteger a los ciudadanos más vulnerables.
The state must take on the responsibility of protecting the most vulnerable citizens.
How to use it
Asumir has two main B2 senses. (1) To assume/take on (a role, responsibility, or challenge): 'asumir el cargo', 'asumir la responsabilidad'. (2) To assume/presuppose (without proof): 'asumimos que todo irá bien'. Sense 1 is the more formal and common. The construction for sense 1 is asumir + noun object. For sense 2, asumir que + indicative. Key distinction from suponer: suponer is a softer, more speculative assumption; asumir (sense 2) implies a working premise that the speaker treats as true for now.
Common mistake
Asumir (take on/accept) is not the same as suponer (suppose/guess). Asumir implies either active acceptance of responsibility or a firm working premise, while suponer is a lighter conjecture. Also: 'asumir el cargo' is the set phrase for 'take office / take up a post' — learners sometimes use tomar el cargo (incorrect) instead. The correct idiom is asumir or tomar posesión del cargo (more formal ceremony language).