A premise or premiss[a] is a proposition—a true or false declarative statement—used in an argument to prove the truth of another proposition called the conclusion.
For instance, a false premise on its own does not justify rejecting an argument's conclusion; to assume otherwise is a logical fallacy called denying the antecedent.
If there exists a logical interpretation where the premises are all true but the conclusion is false, the argument is invalid.
Key to evaluating the quality of an argument is determining if it is valid and sound.
The proof of a conclusion depends on both the truth of the premises and the validity of the argument.