as in seemingly
to all outward appearances
the lake's putatively pristine water is actually crawling with microorganisms that can wreak havoc with your gastrointestinal system
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Recent Examples of putatively
In those pages, Fiedler dared to argue that many of America’s boyish and putatively innocent classics are in fact fantasies of interracial, homosexual romance.
—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
But with supposedly or putatively race-neutral methods, for 100 years, the right to vote was denied.
—
CBS News,
4 May 2026
From the perspective of a world of increasingly unimaginable maldistribution of resources, cascading ecological collapse, a genocide cheered on by a putatively liberal order, both are barbarisms.
—
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
But with supposedly or putatively race-neutral methods, for 100 years, the right to vote was denied.
—
CBS News,
4 May 2026
From the perspective of a world of increasingly unimaginable maldistribution of resources, cascading ecological collapse, a genocide cheered on by a putatively liberal order, both are barbarisms.
—
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putatively
Adverb
-
That pace has seemingly left lawmakers attempting to put in guardrails fighting a losing battle.
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When Lucerys refuses, Aemond chases Lucerys on his dragon, seemingly meaning to injure him rather than kill him, but his dragon, Vhagar, delivers a fatal blow to Rhaenyra’s son.
Adverb
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The video allegedly showed that a driver who was apparently in front of Savino swerved into the middle lane in front of a tractor-trailer to avoid a collision, the warrant affidavit said.
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Even GOATs get butterflies, apparently.
Adverb
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Or means that any comments are supposedly hypocritical.
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But leaders at United Auto Workers (UAW), the primary US union for autoworkers, reacted with anger to the new robotic presence, given how GM has not yet called back any of the workers affected by supposedly temporary layoffs in March.
Adverb
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He was shuffled off to Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress ostensibly to secure money for the colony’s defense but also to get him out of the way.
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These artisans, with their trade secrets, were kept on Murano, a cluster of islands just across the lagoon from the city, ostensibly as a precaution against fire, though the state would also send assassins after anyone who tried to leave.
Adverb
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Most of those digging were civilians who took search efforts into their own hands, and tensions peaked over inadequate response from the Venezuelan government, whose soldiers, firefighters, police and military cadets were evidently underprepared to respond to the tragedy.
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Tensions peaked over what many Venezuelans viewed as an inadequate response by the government, whose soldiers, firefighters, police and military cadets were evidently underprepared to respond to the scope of the tragedy.
Adverb
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Once, there was a showdown with another tour bus — one presumably not carrying theatergoers.
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The users within that 7% gap had presumably found their question answered by the summary and felt no further online reading was needed to satisfy their curiosity or make a decision.
Adverb
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The long-term health effects of the fire and its smoke probably won’t be known unless researchers conduct a follow-up study, said Eisenman of UCLA.
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Chan says the trend probably isn't for daters who have a problem overworking in their relationships.
Adverb
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Buss was hit in his arm and his ballistic vest likely saved his life.
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Today, the life expectancy has more than doubled, from 35 to 79 years, and Washington would likely be treated with antibiotics, rather than bloodletting, for the throat infection that precipitated his death.
Cite this Entry
“Putatively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putatively. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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