reportedly

reportedly — adverb

1. used to show that a statement is based on what other people have said, not on in

1.adverbC2
Definition

used to show that a statement is based on what other people have said, not on information that the speaker can confirm directly — common in news reports about events that the journalist did not witness personally.

Example

The CEO reportedly earned over ten million dollars last year.

reportedly + past tense verb (earned)

Constanza reportedly quit her job after the disagreement with the manager.

Common collocations
  • reportedly + past tense verb
  • reportedly + passive verb
  • reportedly + be + verb-ing
Synonyms
  • allegedly

    stronger implication of accusation or wrongdoing; common in legal contexts

  • supposedly

    more informal and often implies the speaker doubts the claim

  • purportedly

    very formal, typically used in written reports rather than speech

  • it is said that

    a more conversational phrase with the same meaning

Antonyms
  • definitely

    expresses certainty that a reportedly cannot offer

  • undoubtedly

    marks the speaker's confidence, the opposite of uncertainty

Grammar Patterns

reportedly + past tense verb

reportedly + passive (was/were reportedly + past participle)

reportedly + present continuous (is/are reportedly + verb-ing)

Usage Note

Common in journalism and formal writing. The source of the information is usually implied to be a known (but unnamed) person or document — unlike 'apparently', which suggests the speaker's own impression.

Common Mistakes

Reportedly, she told me she was sick.
She reportedly told co-workers she was sick.
'reportedly' should not be used for what someone told you directly; it is for information from other, non-direct sources.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All three adverbs distance the speaker from the truth of a claim, but on different grounds. 'Reportedly' is neutral: the speaker passes along information from identifiable but unnamed sources — the standard stance in news reporting. 'Allegedly' carries a legal or accusatory tone: someone is said to have done something wrong, often before a court has decided. 'Supposedly' is more informal and often signals the speaker's skepticism: 'He supposedly locked himself out of his own house.' Unlike 'reportedly', which feels dispassionate, 'supposedly' can sound dismissive or ironic. Choose 'reportedly' when you want to sound objective and evidence-based; choose 'supposedly' when you want to hint that the claim is questionable.

allegedly ↗supposedly ↗reportedly ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • reportedly + past tense verb (reportedly earned, reportedly quit)
  • reportedly + passive (was reportedly found, were reportedly seen)
  • reportedly + present continuous (is reportedly moving, are reportedly planning)

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English from 'reported' (the past participle of 'report') plus the adverbial suffix '-ly'. The verb 'report' goes back through Old French 'reporter' ('to tell, to relate') to Latin 'reportare' ('to carry back'), from 're-'' ('back') and 'portare' ('to carry'). The core idea — carrying information back to someone — has stayed consistent from Latin into modern English journalism.