supposed

American  

[suh-pohzd, -poh-zid, suh-pohst] / səˈpoʊzd, -ˈpoʊ zɪd, səˈpoʊst /

adjective

1. merely thought or alleged to be such, on a very questionable basis; imagined.

   When one tries to understand more about these supposed gains, they turn out to be nothing more than clever rhetoric.

2. accepted or believed to be so, without certain knowledge.

   This is the supposed site of the ancient temple, based on recent archeological finds.

3. assumed for the sake of argument; hypothetical.

   Given a supposed scenario where you see two students fighting in the schoolyard, how do you handle it?

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of suppose.

idioms

1. supposed to. suppose.

supposed British  

/ səˈpəʊzd, səˈpəʊzɪdlɪ, -ˈpəʊzɪd /

adjective

1. (prenominal) presumed to be true without certain knowledge

   his supposed date of birth

2. (prenominal) believed to be true on slight grounds; highly doubtful

   the supposed existence of ghosts

3. expected or obliged (to)

   I'm supposed to be there at nine

4. expected or obliged not (to)

   you're not supposed to walk on the grass

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Other Word Forms

• nonsupposed adjective
• supposedly adverb
• unsupposed adjective

Etymology

Origin of supposed

First recorded in 1560–70; suppose + -ed ²

Example Sentences

This was supposed to be the crowing glory of the Bazball project, a series England had been building towards for 18 months and which McCullum said could "define" his team.

From BBC

The pivotal U.S. jobs report for December is supposed to be the first normal one since the government shutdown, but it could prove devilishly hard for investors to parse.

From MarketWatch

The March agreement on the Kurdish authority's integration into the state was supposed to be implemented by the end of 2025.

From Barron's

In addition to American rivals such as China, Iran and Russia, various democratic governments have decried supposed U.S. violations of international law in arresting Mr. Maduro.

From The Wall Street Journal

Are we supposed to believe this is U.S. policy?

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• alleged
• apparent
• presumed
• purported