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:
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
Their financial advisers are pushing products that purport to offer better returns than money-market funds, after taxes, but limit the chance a market swoon will ruin their long-awaited retirement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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
Avoid those who purport to guarantee the IRS will pay.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
I did not hear of this charade until the next day, and did not understand its purport; rather thinking it a pleasant interlude from the more brutal games of the Sons of Liberty.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
The Senate’s Clarity Act purports to close this loophole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
As it happens, Hegseth wasn’t alone in offending the entire Western world, which he purports to revere.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
One hyper-realistic AI video circulating on Elon Musk's platform X purports to show the pair laughing and drinking wine at a restaurant, with a voiceover claiming "they are on a date."
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
One post on Facebook last week, for instance, purports to be written by historian Heather Cox Richardson.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
She added with an arch smile, “Perhaps the most arrogant ones. The Fairy Queen, of course, purports to rule them all.”
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
Apple said in its latest filing that nearly a dozen additional former employees may have been involved in the purported theft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
That distinction illustrates how Paoletta’s contribution is less about purported legal principles and more about legal authorities’ ability to operationalize the broader Vought agenda.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Not all of them were what they were purported to be, but one, involving a Ghanaian, was genuine and it sparked huge concern once it started being shared in April.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Some grants, the NIH confessed, appeared on a list provided by DOGE, the purported budget-cutting department headed by Elon Musk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
A recent bestseller, The Bible Code, purported to find prophecies by this method.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
It specifies no tax periods or matters, purporting instead to resolve “any and all claims,” forever, before agencies it does not even name.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
When organizers went public in 2024, the university said it had “serious concerns — legal, academic, and operational — about a union purporting to represent almost all of our research, teaching, practitioner, and clinical faculty.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
The attacks work by sending messages purporting to come from Signal support, like fake security alerts or invites to join group chats.
From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026
A recent viral post purporting life inside Meta concluded: “I’m done with tech and I’m done with this unfair world.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 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.
