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
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
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In an apparent thawing of political tensions, however, Chinese tech giant Alibaba on Thursday announced a multi-year partnership with the NBA to provide artificial intelligence and cloud services in China.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
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The brightness Pettit observed is one of the worries, as these Starlink trains — usually most apparent shortly after launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket — can interfere with astronomical observations.—
Elizabeth Howell,
Space.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The presumed reasoning behind why the film was ignored is multilayered.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer is listed as probable for the Sooners’ rivalry game against Texas, according to the SEC availability report released Thursday evening.—
Sam Khan Jr,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
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Defensive end Paul Oyewale was also on the report, but he was listed as probable to play.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Besides religion, what are other possible reasons a person might have executed a forgery?—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
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As Myles Lewis-Skelly dribbled up the left wing, the Brazilian made sure to come as central as possible before calling for a cross.—
Art de Roché,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Through his phone, Ron holds a portal into the unknown; a void filled with sporadic echoes and ostensible connections.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
9 Oct. 2025
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President Clinton, who backed free trade despite the Democratic Party’s ostensible ties to organized labor, was still in office when the Seattle protests broke out.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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We’re simply left alone with an addict and his feelings—or, occasionally, his seeming lack of them.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
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A lot of it was the distance that I was afforded, the seeming distance that I was afforded.—
Ed Meza,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The triggers for a crash likewise do not generally follow any obvious logic.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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Roem and other critics of data center growth see a few obvious goals in Virginia if Spanberger wins — though the would-be governor has not climbed on board with all of them.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Putative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putative. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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