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
The speech is ostensibly about the ongoing United Auto Workers strike, whose members the former president is trying to court, but Trump has a longstanding reputation for lengthy and thematically meandering speeches.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2023
But the attorneys general appear focused on emerging companies trying to sell new solar systems door-to-door rather than those ostensibly servicing systems already in place.
—Alana Semuels, Time, 26 Sep. 2023
On Monday, Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a meeting in Nakhchivan, ostensibly to launch a gas pipeline.
—Astrig Agopian, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Sep. 2023
Mi’s team is the first to create silkworms whose excretions are ostensibly identical to spiders’ web material.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 21 Sep. 2023
Bernie invites them to his beach house, ostensibly as a reward, and asks his mobster partner to kill them.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2023
And that’s ostensibly exactly what Marvel’s provided.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 19 Sep. 2023
Don't forget that Apple previously introduced Adaptive EQ for AirPods, which ostensibly measured your ear canal to ensure the balance of the audio is perfect.
—Joe Hindy, PCMAG, 18 Sep. 2023
During that one week, the event ostensibly becomes Nevada's third-largest city, nicknamed Black Rock City.
—Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 8 Sep. 2023
See More
Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2023
But the attorneys general appear focused on emerging companies trying to sell new solar systems door-to-door rather than those ostensibly servicing systems already in place.
—Alana Semuels, Time, 26 Sep. 2023
On Monday, Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a meeting in Nakhchivan, ostensibly to launch a gas pipeline.
—Astrig Agopian, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Sep. 2023
Mi’s team is the first to create silkworms whose excretions are ostensibly identical to spiders’ web material.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 21 Sep. 2023
Bernie invites them to his beach house, ostensibly as a reward, and asks his mobster partner to kill them.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2023
And that’s ostensibly exactly what Marvel’s provided.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 19 Sep. 2023
Don't forget that Apple previously introduced Adaptive EQ for AirPods, which ostensibly measured your ear canal to ensure the balance of the audio is perfect.
—Joe Hindy, PCMAG, 18 Sep. 2023
During that one week, the event ostensibly becomes Nevada's third-largest city, nicknamed Black Rock City.
—Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 8 Sep. 2023
See More
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.
Word History
Etymology
see ostensible
First Known Use
1765, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near ostensibly
Cite this Entry
“Ostensibly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ostensibly. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
ostensibly
adverb
os·ten·si·bly
ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-blē
ə-
: to all outward appearances : seemingly
a statement ostensibly true
More from Merriam-Webster on ostensibly
Britannica English: Translation of ostensibly for Arabic Speakers
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