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putative

adjective [before noun]
 
 
/ˈpjuː.tə.tɪv/ US  /-t̬ə.t̬ɪv/ formal

Definition

generally thought to be or to exist, even if this may not really be true: The putative leader of the terrorist cell was arrested yesterday.Seeming and purporting to beFaking and pretending putatively
 
 
/-li/ adverb
(Definition of putative adjective from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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