supposed
Syllables: sup·po·sed/səˈpəʊzd//səˈpoʊzd/
supposed is the simple past and past participle of suppose.
Meaning of suppose
Verb
suppose (third-person singular simple present supposes, present participle supposing, simple past and past participle supposed)
- To take for granted; to conclude, with less than absolute supporting data; to believe.
- I suppose we all agree that this is the best solution.
- Synonyms:
- assume
- To theorize or hypothesize.
- Suppose that A implies B and B implies C. Then A implies C.
- Synonyms:
- assume
- To imagine; to believe; to receive as true.
- How easy is a bush supposed a bear!c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First...
- To reckon to be, to account or esteem as.
- [He] keeps you from the honors of a Queene,
Being ſuppoſde his worthleſſe Concubine.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- [He] keeps you from the honors of a Queene,
- To require to exist or to be true; to imply by the laws of thought or of nature.
- Purpose supposes foresight.
- To put by fraud in the place of another; to substitute fraudulently.
- A Water-monster, called the Nickard, does enter by night the chamber, where a woman is brought to bed, and stealeth when they are all sleeping, the new-born child and supposeth another in its place, which child growing up is like a monster and commonly dumb.1687, John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, page 30
Adjective (1)
UK/səˈpəʊ.zɪd/US/səˈpoʊ.zɪd/
supposed (not comparable)
- Alleged; assumed.
- Elvis is the supposed king of rock and roll.
- The people were averse to him, as the supposed author of the violence on the monasteries; establishments which were still revered and beloved by the commonalty.1759, David Hume, “[Henry VIII.] Chapter XXXII.”, in The History of England, under the House of Tudor. […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 239
- Synonyms:
- reputed
Adjective (2)
UK/səˈpəʊ.zɪd/US/səˈpoʊ.zɪd/
supposed (not comparable)
- Only used in supposed to
Synonyms of supposed
Words formed from supposed
Phrases with supposed
Words that rhyme with supposed
Questions about supposed
- What does supposed mean?
- Supposed means alleged; assumed.
- What is supposed the simple past and past participle of?
- Supposed is the simple past and past participle of suppose.
- What part of speech is supposed?
- Supposed is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce supposed?
- Supposed is pronounced /səˈpəʊzd/ (UK).
Words near supposed in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: supposed (page history and authors); suppose (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-supposed-verb.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-supposed3.wav.
Cite this entry: “supposed.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/supposed. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
