purportedly

adverb

pur·port·ed·ly | \ (ˌ)pər-ˈpȯr-təd-lē

\

Definition of purportedly

: it is purported : ostensibly, allegedly

Examples of purportedly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The network launched an internal investigation, during which the Times claims that CBS' chief compliance officer Mark Engstrom submitted footage of Dushku cursing on set, purportedly to undermine her complaints. — Julyssa Lopez, Glamour, "CBS Confirms It Paid Actress Eliza Dushku $9.5 Million to Settle Harassment Claims," 15 Dec. 2018 That would be a peculiar position for a purportedly pro-business group to take, since EITE is all about protecting in-state business competitiveness. — David Roberts, Vox, "Big Oil is using brute financial force to kill 2 state sustainability initiatives," 4 Nov. 2018 The border has been relatively quiet, but the sides have come into conflict in Syria, where Israel has carried out scores of airstrikes purportedly meant to prevent Iranian arms from reaching Hezbollah. — Josef Federman, The Seattle Times, "Israeli operation targets Hezbollah cross-border tunnels," 3 Dec. 2018 The screenshots have no specific origin; users from Canada to the UK have purportedly received it. — Patricia Hernandez, The Verge, "Someone hacked printers worldwide, urging people to subscribe to PewDiePie," 30 Nov. 2018 Dior is under fire for a new campaign that purportedly aims to celebrate Mexican culture. — Mekita Rivas, Teen Vogue, "Jennifer Lawrence’s New Dior Ad Is Being Accused of Cultural Appropriation," 16 Nov. 2018 And, making matters even more complicated, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio’s press secretary Eric Phillips tweeted that there were 19 sick passengers, 10 of which were hospitalized and nine who purportedly refused treatment. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "Vanilla Ice and 500+ Other People Were Trapped on a Quarantined Plane Yesterday," 6 Sep. 2018 The sultan purportedly wanted to buy a 30 percent interest in the resort hotel. — Jay Weaver, miamiherald, "Fake sultan's scam of a Miami billionaire fizzled after reckless Ferrari drive, pork meals," 6 July 2018 And versions of Brandless’ products, while inexpensive and purportedly of better quality, can be found at all its competitors. — Rani Molla, Recode, "Brandless wants to create the next great consumer packaged goods brand — but it hasn’t built customer loyalty yet," 18 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'purportedly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

31 Dec 2018

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The first known use of purportedly was in 1942

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