alleged

[uh-lejd, uh-lej-id]

adjective

1. declared or stated to be as described; asserted.

   The alleged murderer could not be located for questioning.

2. doubtful; suspect; supposed.

   The alleged cure-all produced no results when it was tested by reputable doctors.

alleged

/ əˈlɛdʒd /

adjective

1. stated or described to be such; presumed

   the alleged murderer

2. dubious

   an alleged miracle

Other Word Forms

• unalleged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of alleged¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; allege + -ed ²

Example Sentences

The Justice Department had alleged that RealPage allowed competing landlords to share competitive data in real time, giving them confidence to raise prices or eliminate discounts without fearing they would be undercut.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Berkley was putting an “absolute” exclusion of coverage for “any actual or alleged use, deployment, or development of Artificial Intelligence” in some liability policies for corporate directors and officers.

Read more on Barron's

Cabello, who is alleged to be one of the high-ranking members of the cartel, has accused US officials of using it as an excuse to target those they do not like.

Read more on BBC

Whilst China has not commented on the alleged offer of a million tourists, not everyone agrees with President Whipps Jr.'s assessment.

Read more on BBC

The media has focused not on Gen. Tomer-Yerushalmi’s alleged crimes but her response to their exposure.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• purported 
• so-called 
• stated 
• supposed 

When To Use

What does alleged mean?

Alleged is an adjective that’s used to describe things that have been claimed. It’s most often used to describe an action or situation, especially a wrongdoing or crime, that someone claims happened but that has not been confirmed or proven.Alleged can also be used as the past tense of the verb allege, meaning to claim without proof or before proof is available. Such an accusation is called an allegation. The adverb form of alleged is allegedly.As an adjective, alleged can be correctly pronounced either uh-LEJD or uh-LEJ-id. When it’s used as a verb, it’s always pronounced uh-LEJD.Alleged is most commonly used in a legal context and in journalism in reports about crime or other wrongdoing before it has been proven or before someone has been convicted. Using the word alleged allows journalists to talk about allegations without seeming to presume guilt (and getting sued for libel).Sometimes, alleged is used to mean doubtful or supposed in a way that’s intended to indicate skepticism about something, as in The alleged genius can’t even run a small company.   Example: The alleged crime took place when my client was half a state away.