How to Use ostensibly in a Sentence
ostensibly
adverb-
To me, the elves in this show that were ostensibly supposed to look scary?
— Andy Meek, BGR, 29 Nov. 2021 -
This can ostensibly be solved by taking the human out of the front seat of the car.
— Johana Bhuiyan, Recode, 17 May 2018 -
The other came out a month ago, but does, ostensibly, go up in the club.
— Billboard Staff, Billboard, 12 Nov. 2019 -
To be an ally is to step in to a fight that is ostensibly not your own.
— Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2020 -
So why the rush to unload what is ostensibly a 20-10 big man in the prime of his career?
— Rahat Huq, Chron, 21 June 2022 -
This was no small thing for a man who's played what are ostensibly some of the world's best parties -- but the fun didn't last.
— Katie Bain, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2021 -
The caliber of play in the new league, ostensibly, will be higher.
— Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 1 July 2023 -
This is one side of the pressure inside her mind, the one that can ostensibly drag her down.
— oregonlive, 6 July 2021 -
The language of the bill seems to ostensibly target men and not women.
— Amira Rasool, Teen Vogue, 23 Feb. 2018 -
Brown has not practiced with the Raiders in more than a week, ostensibly due to a foot ailment.
— Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, 9 Aug. 2019 -
Perhaps the most telling change of all is one ostensibly small trim.
— Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2024 -
Chaves stocks the snack box with chips and cookies, which ostensibly run for 50 cents apiece.
— Matthew Ormseth, courant.com, 26 Oct. 2017 -
The fact that many others saw and ostensibly were able to read the note is of no consequence.
— Lance Eliot, Forbes, 16 June 2021 -
He was allowed to leave for 12 hours a day, six a days week, ostensibly to work.
— New York Times, 26 July 2019 -
The email, which looked to him like a fraud alert, directed him to what was ostensibly his bank’s sign-in page.
— Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2024 -
Echo Auto is a way to ostensibly put Alexa in your car by ...
— Eric Johnson, Recode, 24 Dec. 2018 -
The public ostensibly comes for free fried fish on white bread, but the main course is the politics.
— Robin Givhan, BostonGlobe.com, 27 June 2019 -
The band will ostensibly be on tour in support of their new album, which drops in April.
— oregonlive, 23 Jan. 2023 -
The series, ostensibly based on the book, is something else.
— Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 26 Apr. 2021 -
The Last Week Tonight host is ostensibly pretty busy with his talk show these days.
— Vulture, 19 Nov. 2022 -
The ride was ostensibly about the harms caused by air pollution.
— Carlton Reid, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2021 -
That means more time — ostensibly — to sit at home and watch Netflix.
— Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, 23 May 2018 -
These views chafe with a recent flood of ostensibly good news.
— Time, 25 Apr. 2018 -
The parking lot was bordered with a black iron fence ostensibly to keep out crime.
— Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 16 Apr. 2018 -
That's a good thing, as the roster is still very young and ostensibly still ascending.
— Stephanie Stradley, Houston Chronicle, 6 Sep. 2019 -
The Rams went into the locker room at halftime and ostensibly talked about how to put those plays behind.
— Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2021 -
Hill is still around, still adapting, even if the reasons why have ostensibly changed.
— Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 28 June 2023 -
Things seemed, ostensibly, okay—shaking a daiquiri for cocktail hour is fun, for a minute.
— Hazlitt, 1 Feb. 2023 -
The session was ostensibly held to honor the late playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, who died in 2022.
— Patrick Frater, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024 -
The change was ostensibly in compliance with a 2023 state law that prevents certain foreign entities from doing business or owning property in the state.
— Meg Little Reilly, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ostensibly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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