supposedly

adverb

sup·​pos·​ed·​ly sə-ˈpō-zəd-lē 

 also  -ˈpōzd-lē

: 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

Synonyms

• apparently
• evidently
• ostensibly
• ostensively
• presumably
• putatively
• seemingly

Examples of supposedly in a Sentence

she's supposedly too sick to come—or so she says

Recent Examples on the Web

Unlike in dictatorships, this tends to involve not overt methods like book burning but quieter techniques such as co-opting media company shareholders to slant their coverage or using limited censorship supposedly designed to fight extremism or child pornography. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 2 Apr. 2025

For instance, Tyler Perry and his studios were supposedly on an advisory board, and they were described as pledging to promote the Dream. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 1 Apr. 2025

President Trump has cited this supposedly inexplicable trend. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2025

It's had a rocky launch, and Apple has recently delayed updates to the new Siri experience that would supposedly understand your context. —Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 29 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supposedly

• composedly