ostensibly
adverb
os·ten·si·bly
ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-blē 
ə-
1
: in an ostensible manner
2
: to all outward appearances
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
There will even be an argument for the Giants to thread the needle and trade a veteran starter to make room for a younger one, while still ostensibly contending and adding on the offensive side.
—Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
This week’s episode of ABC’s The Rookie — an homage of sorts to the movie Speed — was ostensibly about the hijacking of a city bus by bomb-toting baddies seeking a kajillion-dollar ransom.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 26 Mar. 2025
As an ostensibly neutral arbitrator who is subject to the same constraints as judges, such conversations by a PURA commissioner are considered improper.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 26 Mar. 2025
Yes, two different agencies both employ inspectors to do ostensibly the same thing—inspect food products—in some of the same factories, solely because a USDA employee inspecting a company making open-face sandwiches isn’t allowed to address the health and safety of the closed sandwiches nearby.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ostensibly
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
This week’s episode of ABC’s The Rookie — an homage of sorts to the movie Speed — was ostensibly about the hijacking of a city bus by bomb-toting baddies seeking a kajillion-dollar ransom.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 26 Mar. 2025
As an ostensibly neutral arbitrator who is subject to the same constraints as judges, such conversations by a PURA commissioner are considered improper.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 26 Mar. 2025
Yes, two different agencies both employ inspectors to do ostensibly the same thing—inspect food products—in some of the same factories, solely because a USDA employee inspecting a company making open-face sandwiches isn’t allowed to address the health and safety of the closed sandwiches nearby.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ostensibly
Cite this Entry
“Ostensibly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ostensibly. Accessed 3 Apr. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share