HEIR PRESUMPTIVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does heir presumptive mean? 

• HEIR PRESUMPTIVE (noun)
  The noun HEIR PRESUMPTIVE has 1 sense:

1. a person who expects to inherit but whose right can be defeated by the birth of a nearer relative

  Familiarity information: HEIR PRESUMPTIVE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEIR PRESUMPTIVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person who expects to inherit but whose right can be defeated by the birth of a nearer relative

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("heir presumptive" is a kind of...):

heir; heritor; inheritor (a person who is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another)

Antonym:

heir apparent (an heir whose right to an inheritance cannot be defeated if that person outlives the ancestor)

 Context examples 

The heir presumptive, the very William Walter Elliot, Esq., whose rights had been so generously supported by her father, had disappointed her.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)