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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of putative
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
But no one knows what the half-life of putative particles of dark matter would be.
—Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for putative
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
But no one knows what the half-life of putative particles of dark matter would be.
—Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for putative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putative
Adjective
-
Foreclosure would become nonviable as a means of tax collection — with no readily apparent alternative means for timely collection of the delinquent revenue.—
Todd Spangler,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Remember, magnitude is the scale used by astronomers to chart the apparent brightness of an object in the night sky.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The presumed reasoning behind why the film was ignored is multilayered.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Abramov points out that this does not disprove the Mars life explanation, but rather just presents an alternative, albeit much more probable, explanation for the evidence.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
First a look at the problems, and then the probable reasons.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Outside the home, keep tree branches pruned, and as far away from the house as possible.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Minor hail damage to vegetation is possible.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Dale, who was closeted at the time of his death, leaves behind notes stashed inside his treasured first-edition books hinting that his wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) may have had something to do with his ostensible suicide.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
-
As Alfred Hitchcock’s tale of murder and depravity builds to its climax, the film’s ostensible hero, tennis professional Guy Haines (Farley Granger), needs to get out ahead of the psychopath (Robert Walker) who means to frame him for a murder.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
These innocuous-seeming actions can kindle dry vegetation, potentially spawning a wildfire.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
26 Sep. 2025
-
The insurer’s spokesperson declined an opportunity to clarify this seeming contradiction.—
Mario Ariza,
ProPublica,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Black inks for the same printers tend to have less obvious smearing than the color ink, and many smear just enough to see a smudge, without harming readability.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
30 Sep. 2025
-
But Trump’s arbitrary brand of interventionism comes with obvious dangers.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Putative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putative. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share