purport

American  

[per-pawrt, -pohrt, pur-pawrt, -pohrt, pur-pawrt, -pohrt] / pərˈpɔrt, -ˈpoʊrt, ˈpɜr pɔrt, -poʊrt, ˈpɜr pɔrt, -poʊrt /

verb (used with object)

1. to present, especially deliberately, the appearance of being; profess or claim, often falsely.

   a document purporting to be official.

2. to convey to the mind as the meaning or thing intended; express or imply.

   Synonyms:

   signify, intend, mean

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noun

1. the meaning, import, or sense.

   the main purport of your letter.

   Synonyms:

   gist, trend, drift, implication

2. purpose; intention; object.

   the main purport of their visit to France.

purport British  

verb

1. to claim (to be a certain thing, etc) by manner or appearance, esp falsely

2. (esp of speech or writing) to signify or imply

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noun

1. meaning; significance

2. purpose; object; intention

Related Words

See meaning.

Other Word Forms

• purportless adjective

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

Example Sentences

It is one of a wave of deepfakes showing often absurd scenes of urban decline, and regularly purporting to be in the same south London neighbourhood.

From BBC

Norris, a dog owner himself, says he is angry at Rahman for tricking people with "what was purported to be a legitimate business".

From BBC

China, Iran’s largest oil market, purported to be building a diplomatic bridge between Tehran and Riyadh.

From The Wall Street Journal

Then, Canadian curling had another instance of purported cheating.

From BBC

They’ve scrutinized messages from people purporting to be the kidnappers, and on Tuesday, they questioned a man who was ultimately cleared and released.

From Salon

Related Words

• imply
• pose as
• pretend
• profess