supposedly

adverb

sup·​pos·​ed·​ly sə-ˈpō-zəd-lē 

also -ˈpōzd-lē

: as is supposed : according to what is or was said, claimed, or believed by some

a supposedly true story

a supposedly good restaurant

He had dozens of people around him, supposedly looking after him …

—Philip Norman

Daddy took me to the Legion, to shoot pool supposedly.

—Mary Karr

Synonyms of supposedly

• apparently
• seemingly
• ostensibly
• evidently
• presumably
• probably

Examples of supposedly in a Sentence

she's supposedly too sick to come—or so she says

Recent Examples on the Web

Jason, who supposedly witnessed his mother’s killing, took up the blade, slaughtering his way through several bloody sequels. — Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

The incident supposedly happened after an AI agent was granted access on the server from Mastiff. — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2026

The microphone's quality, although supposedly improved, still leaves a little to be desired for voice calls. — Christian De Looper, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026

This is among the many depredations that this supposedly mainstream Administration has committed. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supposedly

• composedly