alleged

1 of 2

adjective

al·​leged ə-ˈlejd  -ˈle-jəd 

1

: accused but not proven or convicted

an alleged burglar

2

: asserted to be true or to exist

an alleged miracle

an alleged conspiracy

3

: questionably true or of a specified kind : supposed, so-called

bought an alleged antique vase

allegedly

ə-ˈle-jəd-lē 

adverb

She allegedly stole the money. [=she is alleged to have stolen the money]

alleged

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of allege

Examples of alleged in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The federal government has also sued UC under Title VII, the federal job discrimination law, over alleged antisemitic harassment of UCLA employees. — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Servers moved through Malaysia The alleged scheme ran from 2023 through 2024, according to the indictment. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026

The alleged attacker was detained and interrogated by Saudi authorities. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026

The documentary features interviews with people in Randolph’s life, friends and family members of his alleged victims, and footage and interviews with the investigative team that eventually put him behind bars. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from past participle of allege

First Known Use

Adjective

1509, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for alleged

• dredged
• edged
• fledged
• hedged
• pledged
• wedged
• unpledged

Legal Definition

alleged

adjective

al·​leged ə-ˈlejd, -ˈle-jəd 

1

: asserted to be true

especially : stated in an allegation

alleged crimes

2

: accused but not yet proven or convicted

trial of alleged war criminals

—R. G. Neumann