allege
[ uh-lej ]
/ əˈlɛdʒ /
Save This Word!
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.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
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.
synonym study for allege
1. See maintain.
OTHER WORDS FROM allege
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use allege in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for allege
allege
/ (əˈlɛdʒ) /
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