to/by all (outward) appearances

idiom

: it seems : according to what other people see

He was, to/by all (outward) appearances, a happily married man.

Examples of to/by all (outward) appearances in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, by all appearances, this was a meeting of two big powers dividing up areas of dominance, a modern-day Congress of Vienna or Yalta Conference. —Peter Baker, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025

And by all appearances, the couple's big moment took place outside the home of a country legend who is near and dear to Wilson's heart. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2025

Decorated solider, normal life Livelsberger’s neighbors on Thursday described him, his new baby and his wife as normal by all appearances. —Noelle Phillips, The Denver Post, 2 Jan. 2025

Kenneth Lukong moved from his native Cameroon to the United States in 2016 to become a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and by all appearances things were going smoothly. —Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 9 Nov. 2024

In a far sunnier corner of Middle-earth, Elrond decides to take refuge with Círdan (new addition Ben Daniels), a revered shipwright and, by all appearances, a wise and reliable (and bearded) elf elder. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024

Van’s mom drinks, Taissa’s outward calm conceals a well of subconscious rage, and the two of them are also, by all appearances, still closeted. —Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024

From Maine to Alaska, USA TODAY reported from towns named Hope about the state of a nation that to all appearances is divided, angry and fearful about its future amid a ferocious election year. —Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 19 Sep. 2024

The traditional approach to running field operations in a very close race is to flood the state with resources to persuade as many voters as possible; the Trump campaign has by all appearances remained uninterested in volume or broadening its coalition. —Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024