supposedly
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
used to say that something is believed to be true by some people, even if there is no proof.
according to what is generally assumed or believed, though not necessarily true. Often used to distance the speaker from the validity of the claim.
Simple“The new restaurant is supposedly the best in town, but I haven't tried it yet.”
In context“The document was supposedly signed by the CEO himself, yet several board members noticed discrepancies in the handwriting style.”
UsageTypically functions as a disjunct, modifying the entire clause to express the speaker's attitude toward the truth of the statement.
PitfallHe is suppose to be the best player. He is supposedly the best player.Do not confuse the adverb 'supposedly' with the phrase 'supposed to'.
SynonymsAntonyms
“Flowers supposedly wrote more than 30 songs for the record, meaning there were at least 20 alternatives.”
“Arsenal have supposedly been offered the chance to involve the Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen in exchange for the Brazilian, which could be tempting for a side looking for a new No 9.”
From supposed + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.