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

Employees are supposed to quantify how they are using AI tools in their workflows.

From The Wall Street Journal

Under the accelerated approval pathway, the FDA is supposed to assess improvement based on so-called surrogate endpoints that predict real-world efficacy—for instance, reduced levels of a protein caused by a rare disease.

From The Wall Street Journal

But planning a vacation is supposed to be joyous.

From The Wall Street Journal

This was supposed to be a blockbuster year for initial public offerings.

From The Wall Street Journal

I was supposed to head downstairs for a reception with Congresswoman Pelosi and a delegation of California Democrats, but I needed a breath of fresh air.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alleged
• apparent
• presumed
• purported