purportedly

[ per-pawr-tid-lee ]

adverb

1. according to what is or has been claimed, reputed, or asserted; allegedly:

   The upcoming version of the tablet will purportedly feature a brand new processor, but no other details are yet known.

   The defendant has not listed the brokers and valuation professionals with whom he purportedly consulted, nor has he told us the questions that he purportedly asked them.

Word History and Origins

Origin of purportedly¹

purported ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

A politics that trades incessantly on disdaining “white male” this and that and on hyping “toxic masculinity” is as self-defeating as a purportedly “anti-racist” politics that ends up hyping racial identity itself.

From Salon

He joined the caucus of younger Republican senators who hounded major technology companies for purportedly censoring conservatives.

From Slate

Earlier in October, Russian hackers were purportedly behind a denial-of-service attack against Raffensberger's government website, which provides instructions for people on how to vote in Georgia.

From Salon

In his dissertation about how to position Democrats for long-lasting majority rule, the current Senate majority leader urged the adoption of policies that would purportedly strengthen the middle class, and in so doing cement a bond between them and the Democratic Party.

From Salon

It then removed voters whose names purportedly appeared in the database.

From Slate

Related Words

• allegedly
• apparently
• probably