Words for Nerds--Putative

Putative. Putative. The feisty, staccato syllables pour forth from one's mouth like machine gun fire. But what does putative mean?

A. Reputed.
B. Judgmental.
C. Disagreeable.
D. Indecisive.

Having trouble making up your mind? A little indecisive? Don't worry--that doesn't make you putative. Furthermore, if, in addition to being indecisive, you happen to be disagreeable and judgmental, breathe easy because you're still not putative.

Putative means reputed or supposed or assumed. Like a reputed mob boss or an assumed source for a news story.

For many years, John Dean was the putative Deep Throat of Watergate fame. Eventually Dean was de-putativized when W. Mark Felt stepped forward.*

When someone or something is putative, it stands on shaky ground. You don't know for sure whether he, she or it is what he, she or it claims to be or is taken to be.

*Clarification: "De-putativized" is a Scrambled Toast word. It's not the same as "deputized" or de-potatosized".