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; 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. 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

"Baby powder was supposed to be something deemed 'safe to use', even on a baby's bum."

From BBC

“So we were about to be filming a moment. And she didn’t know that she was supposed to start. I told her, ‘They don’t say “action.”

From Los Angeles Times

Court filings show some jurors emailed Olmedo earlier this year saying they were “concerned” and believed Masterson’s lawyers weren’t supposed to know where they lived or worked.

From Los Angeles Times

What’s a high school basketball team supposed to do when a week before its season begins, the starting point guard and a former player are found shot to death?

From Los Angeles Times

Teachers were supposed to have special training, as any special-ed teacher would, but it seemed hit-or-miss.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alleged
• apparent
• presumed
• purported