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
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 putatively
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
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
-
Importing higher-paying—and oftentimes higher-achieving—students benefits a school during boom times, when universities have seemingly infinite choice among applicants.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
-
Pro wrestling fans have tried to grapple with Zayn seemingly being pushed out of the title picture.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Adverb
-
The ham, apparently, is not the only thing worth exporting from that region.—
Gabriel Alin Zainescu,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
Though, there is no archival footage of Moulin’s bloody crucible, and Nemes apparently had some interest in filming that.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
Adverb
-
Every generous gesture, every supposedly respectful question, every delicate expression of complete fixation becomes quietly infected by the growing understanding that Cole sees Māori humanity itself as something ornamental.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
-
Even the artists whose work all this machinery is supposedly serving no longer have a reliable way to know what real audiences actually want, since whatever feedback reaches them may already have passed through the same apparatus built to distort that feedback in the first place.—
Lane Brown,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Adverb
-
Global disaster shadowed this year’s Witten Days for New Chamber Music, an ostensibly insular contemporary-music festival that takes place each spring in the Ruhr Valley, in Germany.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Not to mention that, in the cabin, the only person doing the dishes and rinsing out everyone’s beer cans for the recycling was the ostensibly famous lead singer—the only woman, natch.—
Dan Kois,
Pitchfork,
17 May 2026
Adverb
-
Far From the Tree, evidently likes to keep her dad active.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
14 May 2026
-
Plus, evidently there is no crime or corruption problem in Florida so Uthmeier has lots of free time to meddle in how sports leagues dare align on the side of equal opportunity.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
Adverb
-
Netanyahu, presumably, is hoping for just such a stalemate.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
In that release, MCSO included photos of bones and skulls, presumably of deceased bison, and presumably taken on the Lay Valley property.—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
Adverb
-
Some portion of eligible people are probably discouraged from applying at all, believing the lottery system to be rigged or pointless.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
The Chargers’ last game was a playoff loss to Vrabel’s Patriots, so nothing short of an edict from the NFL probably would have stopped the franchise’s social media team from referencing the Vrabel-Russini controversy.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
Adverb
-
His party would likely replace him with one of his former allies, though none have yet filed for candidacy.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
15 May 2026
-
The professionals who will likely remain indispensable—across cybersecurity, AML and software—are those who can operate above the machine, not alongside it.—
Victor Fang,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Putatively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putatively. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
