supposedly

adverb

sup·​pos·​ed·​ly sə-ˈpō-zəd-lē How to pronounce supposedly (audio)
also -ˈpōzd-lē
Synonyms of supposedlynext
: as is supposed : according to what is or was said, claimed, or believed by some
a supposedly true story
a supposedly good restaurant
He had dozens of people around him, supposedly looking after him …Philip Norman
Daddy took me to the Legion, to shoot pool supposedly.Mary Karr

Examples of supposedly in a Sentence

she's supposedly too sick to come—or so she says
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Plenty of developments are alarming right now, even as America is supposedly becoming great again. Beverly Gage, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2026 The president himself chose not to name a new full-time national security adviser after removing Mike Waltz, who had included a journalist in supposedly secure communications regarding military action. Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026 Hegseth came out of his own service, in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the seeming conviction that what had stood in the way of a fuller victory in those wars had been the restraints supposedly placed on how soldiers could kill. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026 Those key warning signs include low patient counts, excessive billing, staff shared across multiple companies, and supposedly terminally ill patients who were later discharged alive. Adam Yamaguchi, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for supposedly

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of supposedly was in 1597

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Supposedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supposedly. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on supposedly

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster