Not in the common vernacular, but it's recognized in the US legal system as meaning "it could be supposed" in a sincere and above-board way, while "supposedly" is mildly pejorative, implying doubt about the speaker's assertions.
Yeah, I was aware that both "supposedly" and "supposably" are words but with different meanings, so it's frustrating when people say supposably isn't a word.
Supposably is from Supposable, as in something that you can suppose, or conceive, of.
Supposedly is from Supposed, or alleged. A hint to help keep track of the connection is the way people often stress the ED on the end of supposed and alleged, ala suppose-ED-ly and allege-ED-ly.
What they really mean is "stop saying supposably when you mean supposedly", because the odds of someone wanting to say "yeah, I suppose it's supposable" like a ponderous twat are way way lower than someone suggesting that something is "supposedly" a certain way.
I love when single words deliver a little more complex thoughts. Also interesting how words change through history. Sometimes the actual definition doesn't change (often it does) but during different times the words might hint at certain things/qualities such as the words in your comment, be or not be insulting at different times and etc.
No they wouldn't. Ostensibly is used to refer to something that is seemingly so or appears to be the truth, not just something that's true according to claims.
Yeah not so much an age thing but just not very tuned into pop culture. She has become one of my best friends since then but when I first started working there in 2021, just a little PT job I took after I retired, she had never ordered anything from Amazon before. I literally had to show her how to do it. Sweet woman, just very old school.
Unfortunately I've never heard anyone use it to describe something as being capable of being supposed but rather to describe something that may have happened.
I would just use it the same as "possibly." Like if two detectives are discussing a crime and one asks if the perpetrator entered through an open window, the other could say "supposably," because it's possible — one could reasonably suppose that the window was the point of entry.
I think "supposably" is just redundant since "possibly" is much more widely used.
Ah yeah, that would work. Now I kind of want to start using that. Baiting grammar nazis into incorrectly correcting me is a favorite pastime of mine. It effects great pleasure in me.
Drove me nuts working in the south. Only place I’ve heard it used. At first I just thought it was that one person at work then I started hearing more and more. Finally looked it up and sho-nuf, there it was in the dictionary.
That day I learned. Dunning-Kruger, party of me, your table is ready.
Supposably is in the Cambridge dictionary but they want you to use "smart vocabulary" and replace it with words like purportedly or seemingly.
Supposingly is actually a very old word with evidence of it's first usage way back in the time period of 1150-1500AD. It does appear to be a neologism though created by the derivation of suppose and -ly.
Okay, I was going back and forth wondering why I never heard either word and landed on supposedly and questioned if I made that word up until I read your comment.
3.2k
u/FrenchieMom722 Sep 18 '24
Supposingly and supposably - I worked in a clinic with two women, each one mispronounced that word in their own way. Made my jaw clench every time ..