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
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
Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putatively
Adverb
-
Fashion Month took us all over the globe, where weather patterns were seemingly different in every city.—
Kristina Rutkowski,
Vogue,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The Fighting Irish had slipped into seemingly perpetual mediocrity and unfulfilled expectations.—
Andrew Carter,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The San Diego Sheriff’s Office Saturday released the name of a 34-year-old man who died last week after apparently attempting to kill himself inside his cell at San Diego Central Jail.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
-
But apparently that memo got lost in New York traffic, or something.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
When controvery hit, USC hid behind a supposedly objective formula created by a professor.—
Matt Klink,
Oc Register,
17 Mar. 2026
-
McCarthy then read another note, supposedly written by Elle Fanning but revealed to be Skarsgård again.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
16 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Those changes, enacted ostensibly to limit access to federal money only to legal residents and to prevent fraud in the federal health system, could boost health care needs in a broader way.—
Andre Mouchard,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Alien life, ostensibly, would have originated somewhere else and thus not share this common ancestor.—
Emma Gometz,
Scientific American,
15 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Such a designation, evidently, would save agents from wasting time chasing phantoms.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Tanker trucks were hijacked and found later, empty, their liquid-gold cargo evidently disgorged into some gas station’s underground tanks.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Bruce Pearl — the former Auburn coach and father of Steven Pearl, the current coach — recently made comments disparaging the resume of Miami (Ohio), another team on the bubble, presumably to prop up Auburn’s chances.—
Tim Rohan,
NBC news,
16 Mar. 2026
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That’s a model many school, presumably, would want to emulate rather than try to quick fix a program by throwing money at transfers.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
There was recognition by probably everyone at Davos, commercial and government, that quantum security is not just a nice to have.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
20 Mar. 2026
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If fans had been told before Thursday's game that Texas A&M basketball would score 24 points less than its season average, many probably would have thought its trip to the NCAA Tournament would be brief.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
20 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Those athletes, likely at least in part sensing a physical vulnerability, such as a lack of strength, coordination or control, tend to move differently, even with simple tasks like walking or running.—
Ian McMahan,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Triolet said sports franchises will likely play cities off each other to get the best deal.—
Lilly Kersh,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Putatively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putatively. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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