supposed

adjective

sup·posed | \ sə-ˈpōzd

How to pronounce supposed (audio)

; senses 1b and 2a usually sə-ˈpō-zəd

How to pronounce supposed (audio)

, senses 3 and 4 often sə-ˈpōst

How to pronounce supposed (audio)

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Definition of supposed

1a : pretended twelve hours are supposed to elapse between Acts I and II— W. S. Gilbert

b : alleged trusted my supposed friends

2a : held as an opinion : believed also : mistakenly believed : imagined the sight which makes supposed terror true — William Shakespeare

b : considered probable or certain : expected it was not supposed that everybody could master the technical aspects— J. C. Murray

c : understood you will be supposed to refer to my grandaunt— G. B. Shaw

3 : made or fashioned by intent or design what's that button supposed to do

4a : required by or as if by authority soldiers are supposed to obey their commanding officers

b : given permission : permitted was not supposed to have visitors

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Examples of supposed in a Sentence

this new computer program is a supposed improvement over the old one

Recent Examples on the Web

But, of course, the fact that the accuser withheld the supposed information for decades, and withheld it right up to really essentially a few months ago, that's not allowed to be questioned. — Fox News, "Levin: Democrats and the judicial confirmation process," 24 Sep. 2018 The supposed toxicity of this Christmas classic is nothing more than an old wives' tale, Dr. Wismer says. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "5 Holiday Plants That Are Way More Toxic Than Poinsettias to Cats and Dogs," 14 Dec. 2018 The new initiative will essentially funnel big brands and independent sellers alike through the same back-end system in a supposed effort to improve the uniformity of the shopping experience across Amazon on the public-facing side. — Jason Del Rey, Recode, "An Amazon revolt could be brewing as the tech giant exerts more control over brands," 29 Nov. 2018 This supposed payment would have violated NCAA amateurism rules and been construed by NCAA enforcement officers as an impermissible inducement to a recruit’s parent. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Breaking Down Kevin Ollie's Case Against UConn and the University's Likely Defenses," 29 June 2018 The three supposed finalists share superior advantages that aren’t found in the other cities on Amazon’s top 20 list. — Jon Talton, The Seattle Times, "What might be behind the latest twist on Amazon’s HQ2(s)," 6 Nov. 2018 In addition to showing that Mr. Trump’s wild tactics can sometimes produce real results, the USMCA should defuse some fears about the supposed radicalism of his agenda. — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, "Trump’s Instincts Triumph on Trade," 1 Oct. 2018 Just a few miles from where this supposed power shift took place inside the Kazan Arena, Cristiano Ronaldo was also sent packing at the hands of Uruguay in Sochi. — SI.com, "Kylian Mbappé's Announces Himself on the World Stage as Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi Bow Out," 2 July 2018 But there is a darker side to the equation: Subsequent failures by the French team saw far-right politicians harp on the supposed lack of patriotism of nonwhite players. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, "The World Cup is a celebration of cosmopolitanism, until it isn’t," 4 July 2018

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

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Time Traveler for supposed

The first known use of supposed was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for supposed

supposed

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of supposed

: claimed to be true or real

See the full definition for supposed in the English Language Learners Dictionary

supposed

adjective

sup·posed | \ sə-ˈpōzd

\

Kids Definition of supposed

1 : forced, expected, or required I am supposed to be home early.

2 : believed or claimed to be true or real the supposed murderer

3 : given permission I'm not supposed to stay out after dark.

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WORD OF THE DAY

propitious

likely to have or produce good results

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