putative

adjective

pu·​ta·​tive ˈpyü-tə-tiv 

1

: commonly accepted or supposed

2

: assumed to exist or to have existed

putatively adverb

Did you know?

There's no need to make assumptions about the root behind putative; scholars are quite certain the word comes from Latin putatus, the past participle of the verb putare, which means "to consider" or "to think." Putative has been part of English since the 15th century, and it often shows up in legal contexts. For instance, a "putative marriage" is one that is believed to be legal by at least one of the parties involved. When that trusting person finds out that their marriage is not sanctioned by law, other putare derivatives—such as dispute, reputed, imputation, and deputy—may come into play.

Did you know?

Putative: Always Before a Noun

Putative is almost always used in front of a noun, the modified noun being that which is assumed or supposed to be. The putative cause of a death, for example, is the one widely believed to have caused it, even when it hasn't been proven or made certain. However, one does not say "the cause was putative."

Synonyms

• apparent
• assumed
• evident
• ostensible
• ostensive
• presumed
• prima facie
• reputed
• seeming
• supposed

Examples of putative in a Sentence

This has always been a nation willing to sell out its past for putative progress. —Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, 3 June 2002

The putative champions of liberty took up the cry of dissent only after it had become profitable and safe … —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, June 2000

Back in Hollywood in a few weeks, I was discouraged to find yet another putative director wandering about in the Cowan offices, also unpaid. —Arthur Miller, Timebends, 1987

the putative reason for her dismissal was poor job performance

Recent Examples on the Web

From the moment last summer when former President Biden left last year’s race until this month, though, there was only one word to accurately describe Newsom’s putative campaign — supine. —Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 7 May 2025

His preferred model instead invokes the putative decay of another mysterious aspect of cosmology, dark matter—thought to be a substance that gravitationally binds galaxies together but otherwise scarcely interacts with the rest of the universe at all. —Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025

But this Administration has swept up putative gang members, some reportedly for nothing more than having a tattoo, and disappeared them to foreign prisons. —Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025

The Government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this Court. —Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin putativus, from Latin putatus, past participle of putare to think

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for putative

• noncommutative

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Legal Definition

putative

adjective

pu·​ta·​tive ˈpyü-tə-tiv 

: thought, assumed, or alleged to be such or to exist

the child's putative father

ignorantly entered into a putative marriage before the divorce from a previous spouse was final

putatively adverb