ostensible

adjective

os·​ten·​si·​ble ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-bəl 

ə-

1

: intended for display : open to view

2

: being such in appearance : plausible rather than demonstrably true or real

the ostensible purpose for the trip

Did you know?

Ostensible comes from Latin ostendere, meaning "to show," and the word suggests a discrepancy between a declared or implied aim or reason and the true one.

Synonyms

• apparent
• assumed
• evident
• ostensive
• presumed
• prima facie
• putative
• reputed
• seeming
• supposed

Choose the Right Synonym for ostensible

apparent, illusory, seeming, ostensible mean not actually being what appearance indicates.

apparent suggests appearance to unaided senses that may or may not be borne out by more rigorous examination or greater knowledge.

the apparent cause of the accident

illusory implies a false impression based on deceptive resemblance or faulty observation, or influenced by emotions that prevent a clear view.

an illusory sense of security

seeming implies a character in the thing observed that gives it the appearance, sometimes through intent, of something else.

the seeming simplicity of the story

ostensible suggests a discrepancy between an openly declared or naturally implied aim or reason and the true one.

the ostensible reason for their visit

Examples of ostensible in a Sentence

That intelligence and those facts, of course, all pertained to Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, the war's ostensible casus belli, which we now know did not exist. —Frank Rich, New York Review, 6 Apr. 2006

To listen again to "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"—probably the most relentlessly cheerful song ever written on the ostensible theme of misery—is at once to admire its delicately judged textures and Swiss-watch precision … —Geoffrey O'Brien, New York Review of Books, 15 Dec. 2005

Its ostensible subject is America's murderous gun culture. Its real subject, of course, is the ravenous ego of its director-star, Michael Moore. —Scott Berg, Time, 14 July 2003

It's a snarky, glory-thieving place, the world of big-bucks political fund raising. Ostensible grownups can be reduced to screaming toddlers over who gets the credit for bringing in a major donor's gift … —Viveca Novak, Time, 14 June 1999

the ostensible reason for the meeting turned out to be a trick to get him to the surprise party

Recent Examples on the Web

The ostensible reason for the increase is to address the very real problem of revenue volatility. —Jon Coupal, Orange County Register, 8 Dec. 2024

While Monogram’s official website lists nine ostensible retailers —eight in California and one in Arizona — none of the dispensaries actually carry the brand, SF Gate reported. —Madeline Fitzgerald, Quartz, 3 Dec. 2024

Celebrities including Lily Collins and Elizabeth Hurley, fashion icons Donatella Versace and Betsey Johnson, and the film and musical's ostensible muse, Anna Wintour, were in attendance, as well as the musical's lead, Vanessa Williams. —Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 2 Dec. 2024

The ostensible mission of the Bene Gesserit under Mother Superior Raquella is to assert a kind of benevolent influence on the leaders of the Imperium, sending Truthsayers to help protect them from poisonous lies and manipulating genetic bloodlines to achieve long-term goals. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin ostensibilis "perceptible, visible, capable of demonstration," from Latin ostensus, variant of ostentus, past participle of ostendere "to hold out for inspection, show, make clear by one's actions, demonstrate" (from os-, assimilated variant of obs-, variant of ob- "toward, facing, against" + tendere "to extend outward, stretch, spread out") + -bilis "capable (of acting) or worthy (of being acted upon)" — more at ob-, tender entry 3, -able

Note: Scattered attestations of the Latin word, usually in the form ostensible as a predicate adjective, can be found from Duns Scotus to the eighteenth century. The Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, attributes the English word to French, though among vernaculars ostensible is more common in Italian in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

First Known Use

circa 1771, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

ostensible

adjective

os·​ten·​si·​ble ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-bəl 

ə-

: shown outwardly : apparent

the ostensible purpose of his visit