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View synonyms for supposed

supposed

[suh-pohzd, -poh-zid, suh-pohst]

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?



verb

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

supposed

/ 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

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • supposedly adverb
  • nonsupposed adjective
  • unsupposed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of supposed1

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

Idioms
  1. supposed to. suppose.

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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.

After a protracted approval and permitting process, construction finally got under way in 2018, and it was supposed to last a little over six years.

The first test is the dead hostages, all of whose bodies Hamas was supposed to return Monday.

What’s Next: The consumer price index was supposed to be released on Wednesday and was supposed to be this week’s main focus.

Read more on Barron's

Indiana is supposed to be a basketball state.

The hardest part was the part that I’m supposed to be used to by now, and that’s the love story.

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Related Words

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.

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