supposed

English

Pronunciation

• (verb)
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /səˈpəʊzd/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /səˈpoʊzd/

    • Audio (US)

      (file)

  • Rhymes: -əʊzd, -oʊzd
• (adjective)
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /səˈpəʊzɪd/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /səˈpoʊzɪd/, /səˈpoʊzd/

    • Audio (US)

      (file)

  • Rhymes: -əʊzɪd, -oʊzɪd, -oʊzd
• (in supposed to)
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /səˈpəʊst/, (colloquial) /spəʊst/

    • Audio (Southern England)

      (file)

  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /səˈpoʊst/, (colloquial) /spoʊst/
  • Rhymes: -əʊst, -oʊst

Verb

supposed

1. simple past and past participle of suppose

Adjective

supposed (not comparable)

1. Alleged; assumed.

   Muhammad is the supposed messenger of God.

   • 1759, David Hume, “[Henry VIII.] Chapter XXXII.”, in The History of England, under the House of Tudor. […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 239:

     The people were averse to him, as the supposed author of the violence on the monasteries; establishments which were still revered and beloved by the commonalty.

   • 1936 November 28, “Prognosis in Prophylactic External Cephalic Version”, in The Lancet‎^[1], page 1285:

     Many criticisms have been made of prophylactic external cephalic version based on the supposed dangers of the manipulation.

2. (with infinitive) Generally considered or expected.

   The movie is supposed to be good.

   • 1848, J. S. Skinner & Son, editor, The Plough, The Loom and the Anvil‎^[2], volume I, Philadelphia: J. S. Skinner & Son, page 137:

     The great use of coffee in France is supposed to have abated the prevalency of the gravel, for where coffee is used as a constant beverage, the gravel and the gout are scarcely known.

3. (with infinitive) Having an obligation.

   You are not supposed to smoke in the restaurant. [Note: this means, you are obliged not to smoke.]

   The phone is supposed to come with a manual.

   • a. 1627 (date written), Francis Bacon, “A.D. 1612. Ætat. 52.”, in James Spedding, editor, The Works of Francis Bacon, […]: The Letters and the Life of Francis Bacon […], volume IV, London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, published 1858, →OCLC, page 287:

     [I]t behoveth to peruse […] how much the king hath more now when the whole benefit is supposed to go to him, than he had when three parts of the benefit went to the committee.

4. (with infinitive) Intended.

   The phone is supposed to save us time.

Derived terms

• supposedly
• supposed to

Translations

presumed to be true, but without proof

• Bulgarian: предполагаем (bg) (predpolagaem)
• Catalan: suposat (ca)
• Dutch: vermeend (nl)
• Finnish: oletettu (fi), otaksuttu (fi)
• Galician: suposto m
• German: vermeintlich (de)
• Polish: przypuszczalny (pl), domniemany (pl), rzekomy (pl)
• Portuguese: suposto (pt)
• Spanish: supuesto (es)
• Swedish: förmodad (sv), påstådd (sv), förment (sv)

expected

• Bulgarian: очакван (bg) (očakvan)
• French: supposé (fr) m Quebec
• Portuguese: is supposed to be __ → é para ser

obliged

• Russian: следует (ru) impf (sledujet)

intended