supposedly
/səˈpoʊ̯.zɪd.li/adverb
supposedly is spelled S-U-P-P-O-S-E-D-L-Y. The wrong spelling people search most is suposedly: about 20 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 77 of all searches for the word. Supposedly is an adverb meaning “As a matter of supposition; in the beliefs or according to the claims of some people”.
How many letters and syllables are in supposedly?
| Letters | 10: S-U-P-P-O-S-E-D-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.1 times per million words; the 7,553rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, suposedly, about 20 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell supposedly?
Supposedly is spelled S-U-P-P-O-S-E-D-L-Y. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 77 of the searches for supposedly in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is supposedly?
Supposedly appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce supposedly?
- UK /səˈpəʊ̯.zɪd.li/
- US /səˈpoʊ̯.zɪd.li/
Supposedly has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-supposedly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with supposedly
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What does supposedly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
As a matter of supposition; in the beliefs or according to the claims of some people.
Near-synonyms: supposably, reportedly, reputedly, purportedly, putatively, rumoredly, allegedly, ostensibly, possibly, probably, likely, plausibly
- 2
informalUsed in place of "supposed to be," often in informal or colloquial speech, as a mispronunciation.
My parents told me I am supposedly in bed by 10 P.M.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Supposedly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense as a matter of supposition:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | supposément |
| German | angeblich |
| Portuguese | supostamente |
| Spanish | supuestamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does supposedly come from?
From supposed + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).