reputed
adjective
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Reputed is used constantly today by reporters, and almost always to describe suspected criminals—"the reputed mobster", "the reputed drug kingpin", "the reputed gang leader", etc. But the word shouldn't be left to journalists; your elderly aunt may, for instance, be reputed to have made a large fortune in oil, or to have had four husbands who all died mysteriously. Reputed is easy to confuse with reputable, and they used to mean the same thing—that is, "having a good reputation"—but it's become rare to hear reputed used with that meaning today.
Examples of reputed in a Sentence
Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
In 1998, Vito Guzzo, a reputed member of the Colombo crime family, pleaded guilty to five murders and several other violent crimes.
—Jonathan Karl, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2025
The reputed leader of Chicago’s Wicked Town gang faction and one of his top lieutenants pleaded guilty Tuesday to racketeering conspiracy involving a string of murders, shootings and robberies in exchange for reduced sentences.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
This morning’s must reads L.A.’s Rollin’ 60s Crips: The rise of a notorious gang and its reputed boss ‘Big U.’ The Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips have a reputation for violence, sometimes even against fellow members.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reputed
Cite this Entry
“Reputed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reputed. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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