English
putative
Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /ˈpju.tə.tɪv/
Adjective

putative

  1. Commonly believed or deemed to be the case; accepted by supposition rather than as a result of proof.
    Synonyms: ostensible, purported, reputed, supposed
    • 1879, Maurice Mauris, "A Materialistic Artist," New York Times, 9 Nov., p. 10:
      [T]he lady . . . insisted upon going herself, requesting me to mind for a second the baby. . . . lo! the baby awoke and stared at me with a pair of big frightened eyes, which the little thing in another moment rolled in all directions, as if in search of its putative mother.
    • 1989, William E. Colby and Jeremy J. Stone, "[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h94VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5201,7817370&dq=putative-leader US must support Thailand if Cambodia is to survive]," Milwaukee Sentinel (Los Angeles Times Service), 28 Oct. (retrieved 15 Sep. 2009):
      Just as Prince Sihanouk is fronting for the Khmer Rouge today . . . so also was he their putative leader from 1970 to 1975.
    • 2006, Unmesh Kher, "[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1228716,00.html No Neat Endings for the JonBenet Case]," Time, 18 Aug.:
      Karr's past does raise suspicions. When he was arrested in Bangkok, he was living in a dormitory-like guesthouse in a neighborhood frequented by sex tourists. . . . Of course, Karr's putative pedophilia would not make him guilty of murder.
Translations

This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.005
Offline English dictionary