allege

American  

[uh-lej] / əˈlɛdʒ /

verb (used with object)

• alleges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• alleged,
  past participle,  past
• alleging
  present participle

1. to assert without proof.

2. to declare with positiveness; affirm; assert.

   to allege a fact.

   Synonyms:

   aver, asseverate, state

   Antonyms:

   deny

3. to declare before a court or elsewhere, as if under oath.

   Synonyms:

   attest

4. to plead in support of; offer as a reason or excuse.

5. Archaic. to cite or quote in confirmation.

---

allege British  

/ əˈlɛdʒ /

verb

1. to declare in or as if in a court of law; state without or before proof

   he alleged malpractice

2. to put forward (an argument or plea) for or against an accusation, claim, etc

3. archaic to cite or quote, as to confirm

---

Usage

What does allege mean? To allege is to make an accusation or claim, especially about a crime or wrongdoing. The word often implies that the thing claimed has not been confirmed or proven or that the claim has been made without proof or before proof is available. Forms of allege include the adjective alleged, the adverb allegedly, and the noun allegation (meaning an accusation or claim). Allege 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). Example: Investigators are alleging that Mr. Jones stole from the company over a period of 15 years.

Synonym Usage

See maintain.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• alleger
  noun
• misallege
  verb (used with object)
• preallege
  verb (used with object)
• reallege
  verb (used with object)
• allegeable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• alleging
  present
• alleged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• allege
  simple
• alleges
  simple
• have alleged
  perfect
• has alleged
  perfect
• am alleging
  progressive
• are alleging
  progressive
• is alleging
  progressive
• have been alleging
  perfect progressive
• has been alleging
  perfect progressive

Past

• alleged
  simple
• had alleged
  perfect
• was alleging
  progressive
• were alleging
  progressive
• had been alleging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will allege
  simple
• will have alleged
  perfect
• will be alleging
  progressive
• will have been alleging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of allege

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English alleg(g)en, probably from Old French aleguer, from 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,” from Late Latin alleviāre “to lighten, relieve” ( see alleviate); homonymous Middle English verb alleg(g)en, with literal sense of Old French aleg(i)er, replaced by allay in 16th century

Explanation

If you accuse someone of committing a crime but the proof of the wrongdoing isn't yet found, use the verb allege. You might allege that your sister broke a vase, just because no one else was home when you heard the crash. If you ever watch news programs, you often hear the verb allege. A reporter might say that detectives allege that a certain person, who is now being held without bail, set a fire. This can be confusing: If the person is in jail, then he or she must have set that fire, right? In reality, the person is a suspect, alleged with starting a fire, and awaiting trial. In the United States, people are assumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

allege alleges alleged alleging

Let's be clear – it is a big claim to allege collusion between institutions or organisations collectively seeking to undermine him and his party, and there is no evidence for it.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Prosecutors allege he pushed markups beyond what his own lawyers warned him was lawful to boost his company’s revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

To raise the price, Amazon began entering its own bid, known as a “soft reserve,” which was higher than the price of the runner-up bidder, the FTC will allege.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

The offense caused more than $6 million in losses, prosecutors allege.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

I did not like to walk at this hour alone with Mr. Rochester in the shadowy orchard; but I could not find a reason to allege for leaving him.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Rockstar has denied those allegations at the employment tribunal in Glasgow and alleges workers were sacked for "gross misconduct" following the sharing of confidential information in an online forum.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Now Anthropic alleges that China's Moonshot and Deepseek have also secretly used Claude to generate answers given to its users.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Strada was referring to a lawsuit brought against Saudi Arabia's authorities by 9/11 Families United that alleges the kingdom supported the attackers.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

The lawsuit alleges that others “enabled Burke to isolate the decedent” and “facilitated” his travel, housing and security.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

An unsubstantiated report alleges that a Ridgeback carried off a whale calf off the coast of Norway in 1802.

From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling

Leaders and workers within the labor movement describe Regan’s alleged behavior as an open secret at SEIU, which represents more than 2 million members nationwide and is the largest union in California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Police conducted dozens of raids Thursday into the alleged embezzlement of public funds by the company that produced the flattering biopic.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

In these eat-the-rich times, it’s the dark side of wealth, fame and alleged genius that satiate audience appetites.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Meanwhile, there is no sign of a verdict in the case of Manchester City's 115 charges for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Damage to game birds was also alleged, without supporting evidence.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

NTK filed the lawsuit in October 2023 alleging that it suffered damages, including suspension of a tender offer due to the interference of Daiichi Sankyo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

James denied all charges, alleging that the boy had made them up to "look cool".

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Celeste’s family attorney, Steinfeld, questioned the move in a statement, alleging the singer was using his companies to shield money he earned from his music career and had moved assets to his mother.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

In late 2023, the New York Times sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Microsoft, its main investor, alleging that the companies' powerful artificial intelligence models used millions of articles for training without permission.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

In a statement to police, Garrett Tison’s attorney claimed she received a phone call from Mr. Tison alleging that guards refused to put him in isolation despite his complaints about receiving threats.

From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone

Related Words

• charge
• cite
• declare
• depose
• maintain
• recount
• testify