Putative
Etymology
From Latin "putativus" ("reputed"), from "putare" ("to think, reckon, prune" — the same root behind "compute" and "amputate"). It entered English via law, describing facts assumed to hold, as in a "putative father."
adjective · /PYOO-tuh-tiv/
Generally supposed or assumed to be the case, but not proven.
What it names
A careful word for labeling a claim as widely believed while withholding your own endorsement — the "alleged" of scholarly and legal prose.
Example
The putative benefits of the supplement vanished under a controlled trial.
Related idea
Ostensible stresses how something appears on the surface, often hinting the appearance is misleading; putative simply reports a common assumption without that wink.