supposedly
Americanadverb
-
according to what is falsely claimed, assumed, or imagined.
In fact, the supposedly "simple" work of digging holes, cutting down trees, and blasting snowdrifts offered her an education of the hands and head.
-
according to what is accepted or believed, without positive knowledge.
Next weekend it's supposedly getting a bit colder again, but I think that winter is over.
Usage
What’s the difference between supposedly and supposably? Supposedly means according to what is believed or accepted, without actually knowing for sure, as in Supposedly, he’s bringing the cake. Sometimes, supposedly means according to what is falsely claimed, assumed, or imagined, as in The supposedly safe ride injured eight people. Supposably is much less commonly used and means about the same thing as presumably or conceivably—as may be assumed, imagined, or supposed to be correct, as in We could supposably make the trip in a single day, but that would be pushing it. Yes, supposably is a “real word.” In a lot of cases, though, it’s mistakenly used in place of supposedly. Still, its meaning may sometimes actually fit the situation (even if the person who said it really meant supposedly).Trying to remember the difference between the meaning of the two words can be tricky because both relate to what is believed or assumed and are adverbs (they’re used to modify or describe verbs or adjectives or even entire statements).Here’s a great way to keep them straight: remember that supposably usually expresses the possibility that something might or could happen or be true, while supposedly often expresses doubt or uncertainty about something happening or being true.Some people avoid using supposably altogether, instead opting for synonyms like presumably and conceivably, which are more common—and more likely to be clearly understood.Here’s an example of supposedly and supposably used correctly in a sentence.Example: With the number of new developers we’re supposedly hiring, we could supposably finish the project by the end of the summer. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between supposedly and supposably.
Etymology
Origin of supposedly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Previous military ruler Ne Win changed the rules of the road, requiring vehicles to swap driving lanes -- supposedly the result of misconstrued astrological advice to shift his left-wing regime to the political right.
From Barron's
Writing about the U.N. deliberations on Iraq, Will gushed over Secretary of State Colin Powell’s supposedly sober, masterly and “unhistrionic” presentation.
From Salon
It doesn’t make sense to divide finance into one set of seemingly safe activities that we call banking and another set of other supposedly risky activities.
From Barron's
Anthropic had tested a vending machine powered by its Claude AI model in its own offices and asked whether we’d like to be the first outsiders to try a newer, supposedly smarter version.
This meant that dozens of supposedly “active” operations were dormant throughout most of the year.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
