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; -ˈpəʊzɪd; səˈpəʊzɪdlɪ /

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. səˈpəʊzd postpositivefoll byto expected or obliged (to)

   I'm supposed to be there at nine

4. səˈpəʊzd postpositive; used in negativefoll byto expected or obliged not (to)

   you're not supposed to walk on the grass

Derived Forms

• supposedly, adverb

Other Words From

• sup·pos·ed·ly [s, uh, -, poh, -zid-lee], adverb
• non·sup·posed adjective
• un·sup·posed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of supposed¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. supposed to. suppose ( def 7 ).

Example Sentences

People were beginning to notice structures arising within matrix models that made them wonder if it could really be a description of M-theory, the supposed parent theory from which all string theories descend.

From Nautilus

“Nobody leaves here,” they said to me and the joy for the supposed end was fading.

From Washington Blade

A lot of the discussion around self-driving cars focuses on the supposed safety improvements the technology will herald.

From Singularity Hub 

That’s the supposed problem that she claims her approach can solve.

From Nautilus

Their meat is also highly prized for its supposed health benefits.

From Time

By James Joiner Thea Shaheen had waited her whole life for the body she was supposed to be in.

From The Daily Beast

Both high fashion and the fast, commercial fashion of Target are supposed to be about aspiration.

From The Daily Beast

Yes, cops are under stress and tension (though their jobs are far less dangerous than normally supposed).

From The Daily Beast

Neither could her three-week, multi-thousand dollar stay, which was supposed to be a recovery period.

From The Daily Beast

It was supposed to land in Singapore at 8:57 a.m. local time.

From The Daily Beast

We resolved to do our best to merit the good opinion which we thus supposed them to entertain of us.

From Project Gutenberg

She was also supposed to be the original or model of “the Virtuous Woman” therein portrayed!

From Project Gutenberg

I seized the opportunity to watch what I supposed would be a most interesting interview, from behind a curtain.

From Project Gutenberg

She was a grown young woman when she was overtaken by what she supposed to be the climax of her fate.

From Project Gutenberg

Then, you know, she had no right to play in the Rooms again; she was supposed to pay her hotel bill, and leave Monte Carlo.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• alleged
• apparent
• presumed
• purported