Synonyms: Maybe

Take our word for it, the English language has many ways to describe things that might, or might not, be. For more synonym lists, explore our Say What You Mean resources.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. allege
    report or maintain
    But as he awaited sentencing, Flynn changed legal teams and sought to undo his plea, alleging a host of misconduct, including that he was entrapped by the FBI agents who interviewed him. Washington Post (May 22, 2020)
    If someone is accused of a crime, then that person is alleged to have broken the law. It originated in the Latin verb allegare, which also gave rise to the English verb allegate, where we get allegation: a not-yet-proven accusation of wrongdoing.
  2. assert
    declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
    “Wikipedia frequently asserts, in its own voice, that many of Trump’s statements are ‘false.’ Fox News (May 21, 2020)
  3. claim
    assert or affirm strongly
    Trump’s claims about mail-in voting leading to voter fraud are baseless. Fox News (May 23, 2020)
    Clamare is Latin for "to demand as a right," and it has a couple of main meanings in English. The first is in line with the Latin: a Prospector during the gold rush would stake a claim on a piece of land and begin mining it. But you can also claim that something is true, though you might not be able to prove it. Proclaim, below, and exclaim both derive from the same root.
  4. hypothetical
    a conjectural possibility or circumstance
    Asked what he would do if a state prevented houses of worship from opening, she called that a “hypothetical” and did not answer. Washington Post (May 22, 2020)
    Hypothesis is a Greek word meaning "the foundation or basis for an argument." So if you begin a sentence with "what if" or "let's say" or "for the sake of argument," what follows is hypothetical.
  5. imply
    express or state indirectly
    The implied message seemed to be that viewership numbers weren’t what Netflix needed them to be, so the show wasn’t renewed. The Verge (May 22, 2020)
    From implicare, the same Latin verb that gives us implicate, to imply is to mean something without saying it outright.
  6. maintain
    state or assert
    Lawyers for the McMichaels said their clients maintained their innocence, and said many questions loomed over the fatal confrontation between them and Mr. Arbery. New York Times (May 22, 2020)
  7. ostensible
    appearing as such but not necessarily so
    The briefings fail spectacularly at their ostensible task of informing the public, so explanations for their huge audience tend to draw on the notion that we instinctually flock to the president in dark times. New York Times (Apr 21, 2020)
    Ostensible is a pretty close synonym for supposed, below: something that's assumed to be what it's presented as, but may not be.
  8. possible
    capable of happening or existing
    It made me long to travel in a way that, I later realised, is not actually possible. The Guardian (May 23, 2020)
  9. proclaim
    state or announce
    He later sought to withdraw that plea proclaiming his innocence. Washington Times (May 21, 2020)
    See claim, above.
  10. profess
    state insincerely
    The president maintains that he is strong on China, despite routinely professing admiration for Chinese President Xi Jinping, including for actions surrounding the pandemic. Salon (May 1, 2020)
    If you make a show of saying something but don't really mean it, you're professing.
  11. purport
    have the often misleading appearance of being or intending
    The New England Patriots employ float tanks, which purport to create the benefits of a four-hour nap in 40 minutes. Washington Post (May 18, 2020)
    In Latin, proportare means "to put or carry forth." In English, purport carries the connotation of suspicion; like ostensible, above, the thing in question may not turn out to be authentic.
  12. suggest
    imply as a possibility
    The proposal also suggests installing plexiglass barriers “where physical distancing is not feasible.” Los Angeles Times (May 23, 2020)
  13. supposed
    based primarily on surmise rather than adequate evidence
    Your scientific theories are equal to my Twitter theories, just as your FBI investigation into Russia is equal to Rudy’s supposed investigation into Ukraine. The Guardian (May 22, 2020)
  14. tergiversate
    be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead
    "The more she tergiversated, the greater grew the ardency of the reporters for an interview."
    A rare word, tergiversate comes from the Latin verb tergiversari, meaning "to turn one's back" or "to be evasive." It's an ancient version of "flip-flopping," changing your mind or opinion so often that nobody can tell what you think.
Created on Thu Feb 13 19:42:49 EST 2020 (updated Wed Mar 03 15:55:55 EST 2021)

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