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Synonyms

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?


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

"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

Other Word Forms

  • nonsupposed adjective
  • supposedly adverb
  • unsupposed adjective

Etymology

Origin of supposed

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

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.

Artificial intelligence was supposed to be the stock market’s guardian angel, but this past week, investors were grappling with the possibility that it has become Frankenstein’s monster.

From Barron's

Artificial intelligence was supposed to be the stock market’s guardian angel, but this past week, investors were grappling with the possibility that it has become Frankenstein’s monster.

From Barron's

These were supposed to be the easier of the concessions, given what the U.S. and Israel have already accomplished.

From The Wall Street Journal

It came as the first supposed deadline for the Guthrie family to hand over money passed.

From BBC

Maybe that was the way men were supposed to look.

From Literature