Supposedly means according to what people say or believe, but with doubt about whether it's actually true. When you say something happened supposedly, you're passing along information without confirming it yourself, often because you're skeptical.

If your friend says the cafeteria is supposedly serving pizza today, they heard that rumor but aren't sure it's reliable. If a movie is supposedly based on a true story, the filmmakers claim it happened that way, but the real events might have been quite different.

The word carries a hint of suspicion or uncertainty. It's different from saying something definitely happened or using words like “apparently” or “reportedly,” which sound more neutral. When you say supposedly, you're often suggesting, “That's what they say, but I have my doubts.”

You might hear someone say a classmate supposedly finished a huge project in one night (sounds unlikely), or that a new restaurant is supposedly amazing (but maybe it's just hype). The word lets you share information while keeping your distance from it, signaling that you're not vouching for its truth.