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supposedly

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From supposed +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /səˈpəʊ̯.zɪd.li/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Adverb

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supposedly (not comparable)

  1. As a matter of supposition; in the beliefs or according to the claims of some people.
    Near-synonyms: supposably, reportedly, reputedly, purportedly, putatively, rumoredly, allegedly, ostensibly, possibly, probably, likely, plausibly
    People from other planets have supposedly visited Earth in flying saucers.
    According to your testimony, you were supposedly at home watching TV when the murder occurred.
    • 1958 February, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 88:
      In these early days of silent pictures, the accent was chiefly on thrills and danger as provided by supposedly unstoppable locomotives with crooks or maniacs on the footplate.
    • 2011 October 8, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France”, in BBC Sport‎[1]:
      France were supposedly a team in pieces, beaten by Tonga just a week ago and with coach Marc Lievremont publicly berating his players, but so clear-cut was their victory that much of the atmosphere had been sucked from the contest long before the end.
    • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
      I haven't booked, so I don't have a clue as to whether the service will be busy or not. Supposedly, reservations are compulsory, but I want to find out what would happen if you just turn up.
    • 2024 September 3, Noor Al-Sibai, “Elon Musk Suggests That Government Should Be Replaced by Dudes With High Testosterone”, in The Byte‎[2]:
      Beyond the glaring sexism inherent in suggesting that women's brains are so different from men's that they can't think properly, Musk lending credence to this dogshit hypothesis is incredibly goofy given that he and his audience of supposedly "high-T" men seem far more likely to fall in line with the sort of groupthink the original post references in such pseudo-phrenological terms.
  2. (Philippines, informal) Used in place of "supposed to be," often in informal or colloquial speech, as a mispronunciation.
    My parents told me I am supposedly in bed by 10 P.M.

Translations

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