supposedly

adverb

sə-ˈpō-zəd-lē How to pronounce supposedly (audio)
Definition of supposedlynext
as in apparently
to all outward appearances she's supposedly too sick to come—or so she says

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 supposedly In the Hugging Face attack, AI agents escaped a testing environment supposedly sealed off from the internet, collaborated using a secret message board and overwhelmed Hugging Face's digital defenses. — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026 The women supposedly work more in caretaker jobs like teaching and healthcare, softening their views toward the least of us. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 Over the course of Decay, Godflesh‘s 10th and supposedly penultimate album, frontman Justin Broadrick utters less than 150 words total in just 42 minutes. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2026 Not just the supposedly existential risk that AI leaders started recently claiming required a slowdown, but also risks from bad actors like hackers or terrorists wielding AI to attack either country’s infrastructure. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for supposedly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for supposedly
  1. apparently
  2. seemingly
  3. ostensibly
  4. evidently
  5. presumably
  6. probably
Adverb
  • Mid-round, golfers head to the Halfway House for burger dogs and fish tacos, and the Links Margarita has apparently achieved something close to cult status among regulars.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The Soyuz rocket failure was apparently caused by a fire at the base of the booster about a minute before liftoff, according to the Encyclopedia Astronautica.
    — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of apparently
Adverb
  • Because Luann’s microphone has seemingly been surgically attached to her body, her toast goes on for over 35 minutes.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026
  • After the event was disrupted by an armed intruder, the Administration and the association scheduled a July do-over, where Trump delivered a rambling speech indulging seemingly every tangent that sprang to mind, but his contempt remained apparent.
    — Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of seemingly
Adverb
  • The Taliban’s return to power was swift, though preventing it had ostensibly been the entire point of the decades-long occupation, the bombs, the hundreds of thousands of lives lost.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In the south, an array of militias and armed groups arose over the years, ostensibly to back the government against the rebels.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of ostensibly
Adverb
  • Breaking the law evidently isn’t one of the mayoral achievements City Hall is seeking to amplify.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 24 Sep. 2026
  • With 53% of US 18-to-29s favorable towards socialism but only 45% favorable towards capitalism, Gen Z evidently feel let down by capitalism.
    — Luba Kassova, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of evidently
Adverb
  • These messages, presumably written by students, are arguably reductive in their analysis.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Her former research partner has absconded with her life’s work, presumably to put toward greedy human means of Manifest Destiny.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of presumably
Adverb
  • These departures would have probably been excused had the show captured the imagination of the audience.
    — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 26 Sep. 2026
  • That means an electrician or pipefitter in Birmingham will probably have more of a buyer’s market than one in Boston.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of probably

Browse Nearby Words

supposed
supposedly
supposes
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Cite this Entry

“Supposedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/supposedly. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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