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Ought vs Supposed - What's the difference?

ought | supposed |

As verbs the difference between ought and supposed

is that ought is (obsolete) (owe) or ought can be (auxiliary) indicating duty or obligation while supposed is (suppose).

As a pronoun ought

is anything .

As an adverb ought

is at all, to any degree.

As a noun ought

is a statement of what ought to be the case as contrasted with what is the case or ought can be cipher, zero, nought.

As an adjective supposed is

presumed to be true, but without proof.

ought

English

Etymology 1

(etyl)

Verb

(head)
  • (obsolete) (owe)
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Luke VII:
    • There was a certayne lender, which had two detters, the one ought five hondred pence, and the other fifty.
  • *, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.182:
    • witnesse Aristippus , who being urged with the affection he ought his children, as proceeding from his loynes, began to spit.

    Verb

    (head)
  • (auxiliary) Indicating duty or obligation.
  • (auxiliary) Indicating advisability or prudence.
  • (auxiliary) Indicating desirability.
  • (auxiliary) Indicating likelihood or probability.
  • * , chapter=3
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.}}
    Usage notes
    * Ought'' is an auxiliary verb; it takes a following verb as its complement. This verb may appear either as a full infinitive (such as "to go") or a bare infinitive (such as simple "go"), depending on region and speaker; the same range of meanings is possible in either case. Additionally, it's possible for ''ought not to take any complement, in which case a verb complement is implied, as in, "You really ought to [do so]." * The negative of ought'' is either ''ought not (to)'' or ''oughtn't (to)
    Synonyms
    * should (In all senses)
    See also
    * ought to *

    Pronoun

    (English Pronouns)
  • anything
  • * Bishop Joseph Hall
    • Is it a small benefit, that I am placed there where I see no drunken comessations, no rebellious routs, no violent oppressions, no obscene rejoicings, nor ought else that might either vex or affright my soul?

    Adverb

    (-)
  • at all, to any degree.

    • See also

    * aught * naught * nought

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A statement of what ought to be the case as contrasted with what is the case.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1996, title=The Time of Our Lives: The Ethics of Common Sense, author=Mortimer Jerome Adler
    • , passage=There are value judgments that are not reducible to observable matters of fact, and there are oughts that cannot be construed as hypothetical and, therefore, cannot be converted into statements of fact. citation
  • * {{quote-book, year=2004, title=Truth Matters: Essays in Honor of Jacques Maritain, author=Jacques Maritain, John G. Trapani
    • , passage=Is there a fallacy involved in deriving an ought from a set of exclusively factual or descriptive premises? citation

    References

    * *

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • cipher, zero, nought.

    • Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * English auxiliary verbs English defective verbs English modal verbs

    supposed

    English

    Verb

    (head)
  • (suppose)

    • Adjective

    (-)
  • Presumed to be true, but without proof
    • Jesus is the supposed son of God.
  • (with infinitive) Generally considered or expected.
    • ''The movie is supposed to be good.
  • (with infinitive) Having an obligation.
    • You are not supposed to smoke in the restaurant.'' [Note: this means, you are obliged ''not to smoke.]
    The phone is supposed to come with a manual.
  • (with infinitive) Intended.
    • The phone is supposed to save us time.

    Derived terms

    * supposedly * supposed to

    Statistics

    * English heteronyms