allege

[uh-lej]

verb (used with object), al·leged, al·leg·ing.

to assert without proof.
to declare with positiveness; affirm; assert: to allege a fact.
to declare before a court or elsewhere, as if under oath.

to plead in support of; offer as a reason or excuse.
Archaic. to cite or quote in confirmation.

Origin of allege

1275–1325; Middle English alleg(g)en, probably < Old French aleguer (< Medieval Latin, Latin allēgāre to adduce in support of a plea; see allegation), conflated with Anglo-French, Old French aleg(i)er to justify, free, literally, to lighten (< Late Latin alleviāre; see alleviate); homonymous Middle English v. alleg(g)en, with literal sense of Old French aleg(i)er, replaced by allay in 16th cent.

Related formsal·lege·a·ble, adjectiveal·leg·er, nounmis·al·lege, verb (used with object), mis·al·leged, mis·al·leg·ing.pre·al·lege, verb (used with object), pre·al·leged, pre·al·leg·ing.re·al·lege, verb (used with object), re·al·leged, re·al·leg·ing.

Can be confusedaccuse allege charge

Synonyms for allege

2. state, asseverate, aver. 3. attest.

Synonym study

1. See maintain.

Antonyms for allege

2. deny.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for alleges

depose, plead, testify, cite, charge, maintain, recount, declare, recite, advance, avow, offer, avouch, affirm, adduce, state, lay, aver, profess, present

Examples from the Web for alleges

Contemporary Examples of alleges

He alleges that a third boy, aged 10 or 11, was deliberately hit by a car and killed by a member of the pedophile network in 1979.
Victim: I Watched British MPs Rape and Murder Young Boys
Nico Hines
December 18, 2014
When she came to, she alleges that she woke up in his bed and Cosby had his shirt off.
Bill Cosby’s Long List of Accusers (So Far): 18 Alleged Sexual Assault Victims Between 1965-2004
Marlow Stern
November 24, 2014
As a final indignity, Green alleges that he dropped two $100 bills on her end table and left.
I Warned You About Bill Cosby in 2007
Mark Ebner
November 20, 2014
She alleges that he and twenty-or-so named colleagues collectively abused “alcohol, cocaine, mushrooms, Special-K, heroin.”
The Very Rich Should Divorce Very Quietly
Vicky Ward
November 6, 2014
Rather, she alleges that Madaleno has made it a point of heated contention throughout the campaign.
It’s Trans vs. Gay in This Maryland Election
Gideon Resnick
June 24, 2014

Historical Examples of alleges

"You have confessed to the truth of what she alleges," said my father.
Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood
George MacDonald
He died unmarried, though Lady Cowper alleges “he has eight Wives.”
Lavengro
George Borrow
Morabin says that there is no proof of this, and alleges that Brutus did it for stage effect.
The Life of Cicero
Anthony Trollope
Even Mr. Cunningham alleges this to be the case, but I cannot at all agree with him.
At Home with the Patagonians
George Chaworth Musters
Pagi also alleges that Virgil was the fifth Bishop of Salzburg.
Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum
John Healy

British Dictionary definitions for alleges

allege

verb (tr; may take a clause as object)

to declare in or as if in a court of law; state without or before proofhe alleged malpractice
to put forward (an argument or plea) for or against an accusation, claim, etc
archaic to cite or quote, as to confirm

Word Origin for allege

C14 aleggen, ultimately from Latin allēgāre to dispatch on a mission, from lēx law

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for alleges

allege

c.1300. It has the form of one French verb and the meaning of another. The form is Anglo-French aleger, Old French eslegier "to clear at law," from Latin ex- "out of" (see ex-) and litigare "bring suit" (see litigate); however eslegier meant "acquit, clear of charges in a lawsuit." It somehow acquired the meaning of French alléguer, from Latin allegare "send for, bring forth, name, produce in evidence," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + legare "to depute, send" (see legate). Related: Alleged; alleging.