Basic Details
Word: Purport
Part of Speech: Verb and noun
Meaning: As a verb, to claim to be or to do something, often when this may not be true. As a noun, the general meaning of something said or written.
Synonyms: claim, profess, pretend, gist
Word origin: From Old French purporter, to contain, from Latin pro, forth, and portare, to carry.
How to Spell Purport
Syllables: pur - port
Tricky part: The first part is pur with a u, not per. Students hear a weak first syllable and write perport.
Watch out for: perport, purpot, purrport
Memory tip: Purport has two r's, one in each half: pur + port. Think of a ship that purports to sail from every port.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The letter purports to come from the bank, but the spelling mistakes give it away.
Example 2: These videos purport to show a ghost in the old fort.
Example 3: Siddharth explained the purport of the speech in two lines.
Fun Fact
The Latin portare, to carry, inside purport also gives porter, portable and transport.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. concensus 2. hypocracy 3. purport 4. deciet
a) pretending to have beliefs one does not hold
b) to claim to be something, often falsely
c) general agreement within a group
d) dishonest behaviour meant to trick people
Show answer
b) to claim to be something, often falsely. Hypocrisy ends in isy, deceit has ei and consensus has an s in the middle; only purport is right.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word purport as used in the sentence:
The advertisements purport to show that the cream can make you taller in a month.
a) hide
b) claim
c) forget
d) deny
Show answer
b) claim. To purport is to claim, usually with doubt about whether the claim is true.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
These photographs tprupor to show a tiger in the city park, but the forest department disagrees.
a) purport
b) purpose
c) support
d) passport
Show answer
a) purport. Support, passport and purpose all need an s, and this jumble has none.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A message that purports to be from the principal ____.
a) was sent only to the principal
b) has definitely been signed by her
c) claims to be from her but may not be
d) was written by the principal's son
Show answer
c) claims to be from her but may not be
2. The purport of a speech is its ____.
a) exact length
b) printed title
c) general meaning
d) loudest part
Show answer
c) general meaning
