Supposedly Meaning
/səˈpəʊ̯.zɪd.li/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
advAs a matter of supposition; in the beliefs or according to the claims of some people.
advUsed in place of "supposed to be," often in informal or colloquial speech, as a mispronunciation.
Sentence Examples
Supposedly, everyone is connected to everyone else by, at most, six degrees of separation.
Supposedly, his father once betrayed China.
The novel is supposedly based on a true story.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The painting was ____ created by the famous artist, but experts now doubt it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The movie is ____ based on a true story, but many people doubt that all the events actually happened today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English supposed Middle English -ly English -ly English supposedly From supposed + -ly.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In these early days of silent pictures, the accent was chiefly on thrills and danger as provided by supposedly unstoppable locomotives with crooks or maniacs on the footplate."
— 1958 February 26, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 88:
"France were supposedly a team in pieces, beaten by Tonga just a week ago and with coach Marc Lievremont publicly berating his players, but so clear-cut was their victory that much of the atmosphere had been sucked from the contest long before the end."
— 2011 October 8, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 07 Apr 2022:
"I haven't booked, so I don't have a clue as to whether the service will be busy or not. Supposedly, reservations are compulsory, but I want to find out what would happen if you just turn up."
— 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
"Beyond the glaring sexism inherent in suggesting that women's brains are so different from men's that they can't think properly, Musk lending credence to this dogshit hypothesis is incredibly goofy given that he and his audience of supposedly "high-T" men seem far more likely to fall in line with the sort of groupthink the original post references in such pseudo-phrenological terms."
— 2024 September 3, Noor Al-Sibai, “Elon Musk Suggests That Government Should Be Replaced by Dudes With High Testosterone”, in The Byte, archived from the original on 17 Jan 2025:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The painting was ____ created by the famous artist, but experts now doubt it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The movie is ____ based on a true story, but many people doubt that all the events actually happened today.