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

The Celtics don’t get to choose their opponent, so why punish them for that? Jayson Tatum supposedly does not elevate his game in the playoffs. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 26 May 2024

For half a century, critics have argued marijuana does not belong in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, a category supposedly reserved for drugs that cannot be used safely even under a doctor’s supervision due to their high potential for abuse and lack of accepted medical applications. —Jacob Sullum, Orange County Register, 25 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above