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The verb purport may be more familiar nowadays, but purport exists as a noun that passed into English from Anglo-French in the 15th century as a synonym of gist. Sir Walter Scott provides us with an example from his 19th-century novel Rob Roy: "I was a good deal mortified at the purport of this letter." Anglo-French also has the verb purporter (meaning both "to carry" and "to mean"), which combines the prefix pur- ("thoroughly") and the verb porter ("to carry"). In its original English use, the verb purport meant "to signify"; the "to profess or claim" sense familiar to modern English speakers didn't appear until the 17th century.
Synonyms
Examples of purport in a Sentence
Tatum Hunter, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
Some provide housing and others purporting to treat the underlying issues, such as substance abuse and mental health, that force people into the streets.
—Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024
That article hinged on a grainy photo contained in the Warren Commission report purporting to show Lee Harvey Oswald handing out pro-Castro fliers with Rafael Cruz.
—Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
No one is immune to this possible issue, which is why the supplement industry has come out with so many products that purport to help.
—Mark Jackson, Discover Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Not long after he was cleared, however, leaked nudes and illicit messages purported to be from Horner were sent to several media publications including Fortune.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 27 Mar. 2024
The suspects are accused of sending tracking emails purported to be from prominent U.S. journalists, which contained legitimate news articles from publications like CNN and VOX.
—Jonathan Dienst, NBC News, 25 Mar. 2024
While many purport to speak for the global South—at the UN or otherwise—no single country can claim the mantle.
—Comfort Ero, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2024
Annually, its governors and legislators enact hundreds of measures that purport to generate more prosperity and equity for its nearly 39 million residents.
—Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purport.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near purport
Cite this Entry
“Purport.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purport. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
purport
1 of 2 noun
purport
2 of 2 verb
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