presumably

adverb

pre·​sum·​ably pri-ˈzü-mə-blē How to pronounce presumably (audio)
: by reasonable assumption

Examples of presumably in a Sentence

presumably he's going on the trip for business reasons, but we have our doubts
Recent Examples on the Web But 49 minutes into the flight — with just 15 minutes remaining — all contact was lost and the spacecraft presumably broke apart. By marcia Dunn, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 In the capital, where the breadth of the nation’s history is presumably honored, in a city that in the early 1970s was largely populated by Black people, any depiction of them was exceedingly rare. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 These men holding a space separate and apart to network and form a support group, presumably while their wives care for the children, is inherently unequal. Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 My fascination with the people who lived at Willard wasn’t without some salacious curiosity and an expectation that their lives, presumably more extreme, more vivid than mine, were worthy of art. Seyward Darby, Longreads, 13 Mar. 2024 Young’s free agency visits presumably will inform suitors on how he’s recovered from a 2021 knee injury that sidetracked his career. Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024 The question now is whether physicians, who were presumably already aware of those benefits, will make prescribing decisions based on that change. Damian Garde, STAT, 12 Mar. 2024 There were shots from the French Riviera, presumably on the traditional cruise Naval Academy graduates took. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 The lawsuit names two individuals, Sam Altman and Gregory Brockman – presumably San Francisco residents – as defendants. Nizan Geslevich Packin, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'presumably.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of presumably was in 1846

Dictionary Entries Near presumably

Cite this Entry

“Presumably.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/presumably. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

presumably

adverb
pre·​sum·​ably pri-ˈzü-mə-blē How to pronounce presumably (audio)
: one would presume : it seems likely : probably
presumably he'll come later

More from Merriam-Webster on presumably

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