purport
Americanverb (used with object)
-
purports,
present (3rd person singular)
-
purported,
past participle, past
-
purporting
present participle
noun
-
the meaning, import, or sense.
the main purport of your letter.
- Synonyms:
- gist, trend, drift, implication
-
purpose; intention; object.
the main purport of their visit to France.
verb
-
to claim (to be a certain thing, etc) by manner or appearance, esp falsely
-
(esp of speech or writing) to signify or imply
noun
-
meaning; significance
-
purpose; object; intention
Synonym Usage
See meaning.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
purportsimple
-
purportssimple
-
have purportedperfect
-
has purportedperfect
-
am purportingprogressive
-
are purportingprogressive
-
is purportingprogressive
-
have been purportingperfect progressive
-
has been purportingperfect progressive
Past
-
purportedsimple
-
had purportedperfect
-
was purportingprogressive
-
were purportingprogressive
-
had been purportingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of purport
First recorded in 1375–1425; (verb) late Middle English purporten, from Anglo-French purporter “to mean, signify,” Old French porporter “to carry, convey,” equivalent to pur- pro- 1 + porter “to carry” (from Latin portāre ); (noun) late Middle English, from Anglo-French, derivative of the verb
Explanation
Use purport when you want to convince people about something that might not be true, like when you purport that the dog ate your homework. The verb purport can mean "to claim" — whether you mean it or not — or "to intend," like when you purport to study all night. So it makes sense that as a noun, purport means the intention or purpose, like the purport of a political candidate's speech was to get your vote. If the speech was long and hard to follow, you might be lucky just to get the purport, which here means "the main point or meaning."
Vocabulary lists containing purport
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
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Grade 12, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Boulder County’s lawsuit is not some novel attempt by a municipality to regulate greenhouse emissions around the world, and it does not purport to control any activity outside of its borders.
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026
The Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up its examinations of firms behind so-called special purpose vehicles that purport to offer exposure to private company investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
How ironic that social media is the new breeding ground for the kind of toxicity that the people mining Panettiere’s death for views purport to abhor.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
"The government of Kenya cannot own my health data -- that's my private property. The government cannot purport to trade in my private property," he added.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
The series does not purport to be all-inclusive or the last word on class.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
The Truth Social post purports to show the US president saluting beside his Chinese counterpart, with Xi's Air China aircraft forming the backdrop and a military jet soaring overhead.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
“While the District’s letter purports to recite other ‘issues of concern,’ it does so in an incomplete and misleading manner — as we set forth in our response to the District.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The platform purports to be the first prediction market of its kind, pricing county and city wildfire risk in real time.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026
As it happens, Hegseth wasn’t alone in offending the entire Western world, which he purports to revere.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
And how do I know she is what she purports to be?
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Then on Sept. 20, Pyongyang said it had fired a pair of purported hypersonic missiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
The reply came from a purported government agency, “the National Quantum Coordination Office.”
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Survivors and the insurance industry slam purported last-minute bills to shift wildfire costs away from utilities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
That’s because the more clearly we see it the more likely we are to notice that its purported benefits have faded almost to nothing.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2014
Some of the reluctance may be a holdover from a long- dormant intellectual battle in which academics and activists squared off about the purported Haudenosaunee role in the U.S.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Local media on Wednesday broadcast a video purporting to show Marset on the day of his arrest declaring: "Mariaca is my friend."
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
BBC Your Voice has since received an image purporting to show the moment five men were arrested.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
The allegations stemmed from a video, which aired on Britain’s Channel 4 News on Thursday, that showed Farage and two senior aides meeting with men purporting to arrange political donations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Then came illustrated guides purporting to explain how an anxious shopper might distinguish horse meat from cow meat by color, texture, fat and smell.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
It was unsigned, but there were several clear references which made it plain that Bunny Corcoran, or someone purporting to be him, was the author.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
