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These days, someone alleges something before presenting evidence to prove it (or perhaps without evidence at all). But the word allege comes directly from the Middle English verb alleggen, meaning "to submit (something) in evidence or as justification." (Alleggen traces back to the Anglo-French word aleger, meaning "to lighten, free, or exculpate.") Our word has at times in the past carried a meaning closer to that of its ancestor's: it was once applied when bringing someone or something forward as a source or authority in court, as in "a text alleged in support of the argument." The word has also been used to mean "to bring forward as a reason or excuse," as in these lines from Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel Jane Eyre: "I did not like to walk at this hour alone with Mr. Rochester in the shadowy orchard; but I could not find a reason to allege for leaving him."
Examples of allege in a Sentence
Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
This past Sunday, the Israeli military alleged that Hamas had broken the ceasefire by killing two Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza.
—Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Substance abuse was forbidden, though late in her tenure Daedone was alleged to have thrown some LSD into the mix.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
However, federal authorities allege the games were rigged — unknowingly to the poker players the crime families targeted.
—Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for allege
Cite this Entry
“Allege.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allege. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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allege
verb
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