as in apparent
appearing to be true on the basis of evidence that may or may not be confirmed
the putative reason for her dismissal was poor job performance
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Recent Examples of putative
To the contrary, and as mentioned above, asset protection planning requires the application of myriad laws to give the putative debtor a mere chance at a favorable outcome.
—
Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Although the city has historically struggled with high crime, crime rates were sharply declining before Trump declared a putative emergency that required urgent federal intervention.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
Although Xi oversaw military purges earlier in his career and even imposed a sweeping overhaul of the PLA’s command structure in 2015, this recent shakeup has raised eyebrows since many of the affected men were Xi’s putative allies rather than potential political rivals.
—Jonathan A. Czin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2025
Still, Indians have taken note that Trump is cracking down hardest against India, a putative partner, for buying oil from Russia, and not on China, allegedly America’s main adversary, which imports even more Russian oil.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for putative
Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Although the city has historically struggled with high crime, crime rates were sharply declining before Trump declared a putative emergency that required urgent federal intervention.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
Although Xi oversaw military purges earlier in his career and even imposed a sweeping overhaul of the PLA’s command structure in 2015, this recent shakeup has raised eyebrows since many of the affected men were Xi’s putative allies rather than potential political rivals.
—Jonathan A. Czin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2025
Still, Indians have taken note that Trump is cracking down hardest against India, a putative partner, for buying oil from Russia, and not on China, allegedly America’s main adversary, which imports even more Russian oil.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for putative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putative
Adjective
-
Prince Harry apologized for his apparent support of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2025 World Series.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Watson, in an apparent spur-of-the-moment remark, announced that the project would devote 3 to 5 percent of its budget to the study of bioethics.—
Nell Greenfieldboyce,
NPR,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The presumed reasoning behind why the film was ignored is multilayered.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Sama was limited last week against Arizona State, but he was listed as probable on the player availability report.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Murray is listed as probable for Wednesday night’s game.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The study offers rare, direct evidence of this process by tracking cool gas across entire galaxies, something that was not possible before large surveys like MaNGA.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Ehrlich noted the short careers for college athletes and wondered whether a union for collective bargaining is even possible.—
ANDREW DESTIN,
Arkansas Online,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
These conversations tend to invert the ostensible purpose of celebrity interviews.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
18 Dec. 2025
-
This series’ chief villain, the tough-talking badass Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), killed at the end of Avatar but resurrected in Na’vi form in the second film (long story), has since become both a visual and spiritual foil for Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), our ostensible hero.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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With a full roster in hand, the group will call employees directly, pretending to be a new hire with innocuous-seeming questions about platforms, cloud access, and other tech infrastructure.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
1 Jan. 2026
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In Russia, the seeming end of single-party rule and a brief moment of political competition revived the status of the New Year’s address.—
Andrew Fedorov,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
The proximity to Lincoln Center was an obvious draw for musicians, and renters included an avant-garde composer on the sixth floor, a bassist on the fourth, and an opera teacher on the ground level.—
Will Ellis,
Curbed,
6 Jan. 2026
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After successfully training rookie Jackson West, Angela sets her sights on becoming a detective while trying to ignore her obvious chemistry with defense attorney Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore).—
Tanya Melendez,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Putative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putative. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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