supposititious

[ suh-poz-i-tish-uhs ]

adjective

1. fraudulently substituted or pretended; spurious; not genuine.
2. hypothetical.

supposititious

/ səˌpɒzɪˈtɪʃəs /

adjective

1. substituted with intent to mislead or deceive

Derived Forms

• supˌposiˈtitiously, adverb
• supˌposiˈtitiousness, noun

Other Words From

• sup·posi·titious·ly adverb
• sup·posi·titious·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of supposititious¹

1605–15; < Latin suppositīcius, equivalent to supposit ( us ) (past participle of suppōnere; supposition ) + -īcius -itious

Example Sentences

This penalty of being jiggered was a favourite supposititious case of his.

From Literature

I found out within a few hours, and may mention at once, that Mrs. Pocket was the only daughter of a certain quite accidental deceased Knight, who had invented for himself a conviction that his deceased father would have been made a Baronet but for somebody’s determined opposition arising out of entirely personal motives,—I forget whose, if I ever knew,—the Sovereign’s, the Prime Minister’s, the Lord Chancellor’s, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s, anybody’s,—and had tacked himself on to the nobles of the earth in right of this quite supposititious fact.

From Literature

They also alleged that Cronus had turned against them inasmuch as in former times they had been accustomed to sacrifice to this god the noblest of their sons, but more recently, secretly buying and nurturing children, they had sent these to the sacrifice; and when an investigation was made, some of those who had been sacrificed were discovered to have been supposititious.

From Slate

That the list of conditions was supposititious is rendered probable by other negotiations in which Raymond desperately strove to avert the inevitable rupture.

From Project Gutenberg

"What need we information, letters, supposititious records, respecting Michael Angelo, when we possess such a work, every line of which is a transcript of his mind?"

From Project Gutenberg