ostensibly
adverb
os·ten·si·bly
ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-blē 
ə-
1
: in an ostensible manner
2
: to all outward appearances
Synonyms
Examples of ostensibly in a Sentence
The god of cleanliness is never satisfied. In America, the ostensibly egalitarian nature of society meant that cleanliness was used to mark status.
—
Joanna Bourke, Harper's, April 2008
Budweiser and Miller, on the other hand, have eroded their credibility by launching brands ostensibly produced by microbreweries. They've been found out, with resulting customer cynicism.
—James R. Rosenfield, Demographics, December 1997
The day after Clinton made his seemingly proactive statement, he met with congressional leaders of both parties, ostensibly to press the case for military intervention.
—Michael Kelly, New Yorker, 19 Dec.1994
ostensibly a university student studying abroad, he was actually an espionage agent
Joanna Bourke, Harper's, April 2008
Budweiser and Miller, on the other hand, have eroded their credibility by launching brands ostensibly produced by microbreweries. They've been found out, with resulting customer cynicism.
—James R. Rosenfield, Demographics, December 1997
The day after Clinton made his seemingly proactive statement, he met with congressional leaders of both parties, ostensibly to press the case for military intervention.
—Michael Kelly, New Yorker, 19 Dec.1994
ostensibly a university student studying abroad, he was actually an espionage agent
Recent Examples on the Web
Her story is mostly wrapped by the finale, but there is one scene of mother and daughter learning that they’ve been granted asylum and accepting an ostensibly paltry check for their troubles.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
Last season, Pressly struggled to adapt to a setup role behind Hader and, ostensibly, would prefer to close games.
—Sahadev Sharma, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
The intel on Knox is the information Peter stole from the U.N. — and, ostensibly, the info Monroe handed over to Hagan since its release led Knox to drop out of the race.
—Ashley Boucher, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2025
For any remaining surplus, that amount is ostensibly capital gain that would ordinarily be subject to income tax.
—Robert W. Wood, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for ostensibly 
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Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
Last season, Pressly struggled to adapt to a setup role behind Hader and, ostensibly, would prefer to close games.
—Sahadev Sharma, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
The intel on Knox is the information Peter stole from the U.N. — and, ostensibly, the info Monroe handed over to Hagan since its release led Knox to drop out of the race.
—Ashley Boucher, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2025
For any remaining surplus, that amount is ostensibly capital gain that would ordinarily be subject to income tax.
—Robert W. Wood, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for ostensibly
Dictionary Entries Near ostensibly
Cite this Entry
“Ostensibly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ostensibly. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ostensibly
adverb
os·ten·si·bly
ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-blē
ə-
: to all outward appearances : seemingly
a statement ostensibly true
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