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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To assert to be true; affirm: alleging his innocence of the charge.
  2. v. To assert without or before proof: The indictment alleges that the commissioner took bribes.
  3. v. To state (a plea or excuse, for example) in support or denial of a claim or accusation: The defendant alleges temporary insanity.
  4. v. Archaic To bring forward as an authority.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To declare before a court; plead at law; hence, in general, to produce as an argument, plea, or excuse; cite or quote in confirmation: as, to allege exculpatory facts; to allege the authority of a court.
  2. To pronounce with positiveness; declare; affirm; assert: as, to allege a fact.
  3. Synonyms Adduce, Allege, Assign, etc. (see adduce), bring forward, aver, asseverate, maintain, say, insist, plead, produce, cite.
  4. To alleviate; lighten; mitigate; allay.

Wiktionary

  1. v. To lighten, diminish.
  2. v. To state under oath, to plead.
  3. v. To cite or quote an author or his work for or against.
  4. v. To adduce (something) as a reason, excuse, support etc.
  5. v. To make a claim as justification or proof; to make an assertion without proof.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To bring forward with positiveness; to declare; to affirm; to assert.
  2. v. To cite or quote.
  3. v. To produce or urge as a reason, plea, or excuse.
  4. v. To alleviate; to lighten, as a burden or a trouble.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. report or maintain

Etymologies

  1. Middle English alleggen, from Old French alegier, to vindicate, justify (influenced by aleguer, to give a reason), from esligier, to pay a fine, justify oneself, from Late Latin *exlītigāre, to clear at law : Latin ex-, out; see ex- + Latin lītigāre, to sue; see litigate.

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‘allege’ has been looked up 2118 times, loved by 2 people, added to 26 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 7.