reputed
2 of 2past tense and past participle of repute entry 1
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Reputed is used constantly today by reporters, and almost always to describe suspected criminals—"the reputed mobster", "the reputed drug kingpin", "the reputed gang leader", etc. But the word shouldn't be left to journalists; your elderly aunt may, for instance, be reputed to have made a large fortune in oil, or to have had four husbands who all died mysteriously. Reputed is easy to confuse with reputable, and they used to mean the same thing—that is, "having a good reputation"—but it's become rare to hear reputed used with that meaning today.
Cite this Entry
“Reputed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reputed. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.
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