purport
verb /pəˈpɔːt/
/pərˈpɔːrt/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they purport | /pəˈpɔːt/ /pərˈpɔːrt/ |
| he / she / it purports | /pəˈpɔːts/ /pərˈpɔːrts/ |
| past simple purported | /pəˈpɔːtɪd/ /pərˈpɔːrtɪd/ |
| past participle purported | /pəˈpɔːtɪd/ /pərˈpɔːrtɪd/ |
| -ing form purporting | /pəˈpɔːtɪŋ/ /pərˈpɔːrtɪŋ/ |
- purport to be/have something to claim to be something or to have done something, when this may not be true synonym profess
- The book does not purport to be a complete history of the period.
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘express, signify’): from Old French purporter, from medieval Latin proportare, from Latin pro- ‘forth’ + portare ‘carry, bear’. The sense ‘appear to be’ dates from the late 18th cent.