supposedly

adverb

sup·​pos·​ed·​ly sə-ˈpō-zəd-lē How to pronounce supposedly (audio)
 also  -ˈpōzd-lē
: as is supposed : according to what is or was said, claimed, or believed by some
a supposedly true story
a supposedly good restaurant
He had dozens of people around him, supposedly looking after him …Philip Norman
Daddy took me to the Legion, to shoot pool supposedly.Mary Karr

Examples of supposedly in a Sentence

she's supposedly too sick to come—or so she says
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And since China supposedly doesn’t prioritize safety, racing ahead—even recklessly—is the safer long-term bet. Brian Tse, Time, 13 Aug. 2025 After spending last week hyping Grok's spicy new features, Elon Musk kicked off this week by threatening to sue Apple for supposedly gaming the App Store rankings to favor ChatGPT over Grok. Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2025 In turn, the director of the show invites his audience to kill his cast for real; a serious gamble on his part, as Elon Musk and Donald Trump have supposedly booked their own private performance for the following month. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2025 In light of Collins recently being hospitalized for knee surgery, his fans were actually jarred and angered by an AI image of McCartney supposedly visiting him under far more dire circumstances. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for supposedly

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of supposedly was in 1597

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Cite this Entry

“Supposedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supposedly. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

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