purport verb
3rd person present: purports pəˈpɔːt/

appear to be or do something, especially falsely.

"she is not the person she purports to be"

synonyms:
- claim, lay claim, profess, pretend;
- set oneself up (as), appear, seem;
- allege/maintain/assert/proclaim/imply that one is, be apparently, be ostensibly, pose as, impersonate, pass oneself off as, be disguised as, masquerade as, feign the identity of, pass for, represent oneself as;
- rare personate

"this work purports to be authoritative"
Origin ...

late Middle English (in the sense ‘express, signify’): from Old French purporter, from medieval Latin proportare, from Latin pro- ‘forth’ + portare ‘carry, bear’. The sense ‘appear to be’ dates from the late 18th century.


purport
verb [ T + to infinitive ] UK ​ /pəˈpɔːt/ US ​ /pɝːˈpɔːrt/ formal
​
to pretend to be or to do something, especially in a way that is not easy to believe:
They purport to represent the wishes of the majority of parents at the school.
The study purports to show an increase in the incidence of the disease.
The tape recording purports to be of a conversation between the princess and a secret admirer.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/purport

purport purport
Use purport when you want to convince people about something that might not be true, like when you purport that the dog ate your homework.
The verb purport can mean "to claim" — whether you mean it or not — or "to intend," like when you purport to study all night. So it makes sense that as a noun, purport means the intention or purpose, like the purport of a political candidate's speech was to get your vote. If the speech was long and hard to follow, you might be lucky just to get the purport, which here means "the main point or meaning."

Thesaurus
Definitions of
purport
1
v have the often specious appearance of being, intending, or claiming
“The letter purports to express people's opinion”

Type of:
claim
assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing
v propose or intend
Synonyms:
aim, propose, purpose

Type of:
intend, mean, think
have in mind as a purpose
n the intended meaning of a communication
Synonyms:
intent, spirit

Type of:
import, meaning, significance, signification
the message that is intended or expressed or signified
n the pervading meaning or tenor
Synonyms:
drift

Type of:
strain, tenor
the general meaning or substance of an utterance

VERB [with infinitive]
Appear to be or do something, especially falsely.
‘she is not the person she purports to be’
‘the purported marriage was void’
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/purport