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Definition of purport
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purport was our Word of the Day on 04/06/2015. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of purport in a Sentence
the purport of the book
The letter was not read aloud, but all present were informed of its purport.
Recent Examples of purport from the Web
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Other handwritten documents, also unconfirmed, purport to indicate a secret account in his name in the Vatican Bank.
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The 8,761 documents released this week purport to show how the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency breaks into computers, smartphones, television sets and other electronics to use them for surveillance.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'purport.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Definition of purport
Examples of purport in a Sentence
do you purport to spend the rest of your life on that couch, or do you think you might get a job someday?
he purports to be an expert in criminalistics
Recent Examples of purport from the Web
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The Republican plan offers a freer insurance market — something the party has long favored — while purporting to protect those with existing illness.
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This does not cultivate the equality of ideas that the democracy-voucher program purports to champion — quite the opposite, in fact.
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A document purporting to have been written and signed in 2006 used Microsoft's Calibri font.
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Earlier today, Kardashian went on a social media rampage, tearing into his ex with allegations of infidelity, and posting a number of naked photos that purported to be of Chyna.
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New Orleans police released a composite sketch of the suspect based on the victim's description, and later a surveillance video purporting to show the attacker fleeing the scene.
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Several decades ago, Stu Ramstead, who owned a guide camp near the head of the Mulchatna River drainage not far to the north, is purported to have laid out set lines for the mysterious Iliamna creature.
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And then an undercover video from James O'Keefe's Project Veritas landed that purports to show a CNN producer saying the cable news network covers Russia because of ratings.
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This represents a significant part of the potential visitors, immigrants, and refugees the order purported to bar.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'purport.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
The verb purport may be more familiar nowadays, but the noun purport (a synonym of gist, as in gave the purport of her speech in a few words) is a bit older. The noun passed into English from Anglo-French in the mid 1400s. Anglo-French also had the verb purporter (meaning both to carry and to mean), which itself combined the prefix pur- (thoroughly) and the verb porter (to carry). But English speakers apparently waited another seven decades to employ the verb. The first recorded use of purport as a verb doesn't appear until 1528.
First Known Use of purport
15th century
PURPORT Defined for English Language Learners
purport
playDefinition of purport for English Language Learners
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: the main or general meaning of something (such as a speech or a person's actions)
purport
playDefinition of purport for English Language Learners
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: to claim to be or do a particular thing when this claim may not be true
Learn More about purport
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See words that rhyme with purport Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for purport Spanish Central: Translation of purport Nglish: Translation of purport for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of purport for Arabic speakers
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