Definition of ostensible
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
Explore Merriam-Webster
ostensible was our Word of the Day on 01/16/2012. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
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 of ostensible from the Web
-
China’s relationship with North Korea, its ostensible ally, is at a ragged low, and its ties with the South are in poor shape.
-
Memorial Day means a lot of good stuff: The ostensible start of summer, BBQ, warm weather, and of course the first real milestone of the fantasy baseball season.
-
Merkel and Trump clashed in their first meeting in the White House in March, when the president lambasted ostensible German trade negotiators.
-
Two Americans died that day, adding to a growing list of U.S. and NATO troops killed by their ostensible Afghan allies.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ostensible'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Like its synonyms "apparent" and "seeming," "ostensible" implies a discrepancy between what appears to be and what actually is. "Apparent" suggests appearance to unaided senses that may not be borne out by more rigorous examination ("the apparent cause of the accident"). "Seeming" implies a character in the thing being observed that gives it the appearance of something else ("the seeming simplicity of the story"). "Ostensible," which descends from the Latin word ostendere ("to show"), suggests a discrepancy between a declared or implied aim or reason and the true one.
Synonym Discussion of ostensible
OSTENSIBLE Defined for English Language Learners
ostensible
playDefinition of ostensible for English Language Learners
-
: seeming or said to be true or real but very possibly not true or real
OSTENSIBLE Defined for Kids
Learn More about ostensible
-
See words that rhyme with ostensible Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ostensible Spanish Central: Translation of ostensible Nglish: Translation of ostensible for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ostensible for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up ostensible? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!