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 of supposedly

• apparently
• seemingly
• ostensibly
• evidently
• presumably
• probably

Examples of supposedly in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Nicks may have revived the look on the carpet, but bohemian hair and makeup are supposedly taking a backseat in bridal beauty, with stylists predicting a new wave of wedding looks to rise on the scene this season. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2026

Given Polymarket’s popularity, its prices can feed back into the events its bets supposedly only predict. — Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Rogers was also aware that Lee, now supposedly an economics professor at a Chinese university, had an unusually intense interest in him. — Eamon Javers, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026

That was in part to force the fathers to pay child maintenance, thus saving taxpayers’ money, but also supposedly to save the souls of both parents. — Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supposedly

• composedly