supposititious

American  

[suh-poz-i-tish-uhs] / səˌpɒz ɪˈtɪʃ əs /

adjective

1. fraudulently substituted or pretended; spurious; not genuine.

2. hypothetical.

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supposititious British  

/ səˌpɒzɪˈtɪʃəs /

adjective

1. substituted with intent to mislead or deceive

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Other Word Forms

• supposititiously
  adverb
• supposititiousness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of supposititious

1605–15; < Latin suppositīcius, equivalent to supposit ( us ) (past participle of suppōnere; see supposition) + -īcius -itious

Explanation

Supposititious is a fancy word for "based on guesswork." The word is most often used in a legal sense. If a piece of evidence is supposititious, then it's basically hypothetical. It doesn't have any hard facts to back it up. As the sound of the word suggests, supposititious is related to the more common supposition, meaning something uncertain or unconfirmed. Supposititious also has a slightly different and less common meaning of something that has been substituted illegally for something else. If you ask for Champagne in a bar and you get a glass of sparkling white instead, that is truly one supposititious beverage.

Example Sentences

Supposititious, sup-poz-i-tish′us, adj. put by trick in the place of another: spurious: imaginary, hypothetical, supposed.—adv.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various