ostensibly
adverb
os·ten·si·bly
ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-blē 
ə-
1
: in a manner that conceals or may conceal what is true or real
The story is ostensibly fiction, but some of the events are based on real life.
… this was the first time that he had been ostensibly frank as to his purpose while really concealing it.—
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy2
: to all outward appearances
Ostensibly, the reason for his visit was to see an old friend.
… invited me to come inside with him, ostensibly to say good-bye to the hippie friend but actually to smoke pot …—Donna Tartt
Donna TarttExamples 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
But many remain skeptical of the settlement terms, including politicians, independent trade groups, and even some of the companies that ostensibly stand to benefit from these concessions.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2026
The Seahawks won it all with a quarterback many people had given up on, a 31-year-old receiver whose best years ostensibly were behind him, and a defensive end from the Dallas Cowboys who had played in just four games the year before.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
The base configuration, with the M5 Pro chip, 24GB of Unified Memory, 1TB of ostensibly speedier-than-before SSD storage, and a standard display, starts at $2,699.
—Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
Among them was a watercolor, ostensibly by Russian artist Marianne von Werefkin, that was otherwise short of evidence supporting the attribution, according to Popovici.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ostensibly
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Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2026
The Seahawks won it all with a quarterback many people had given up on, a 31-year-old receiver whose best years ostensibly were behind him, and a defensive end from the Dallas Cowboys who had played in just four games the year before.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
The base configuration, with the M5 Pro chip, 24GB of Unified Memory, 1TB of ostensibly speedier-than-before SSD storage, and a standard display, starts at $2,699.
—Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
Among them was a watercolor, ostensibly by Russian artist Marianne von Werefkin, that was otherwise short of evidence supporting the attribution, according to Popovici.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ostensibly
Cite this Entry
“Ostensibly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ostensibly. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ostensibly
adverb
os·ten·si·bly
ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-blē
ə-
: to all outward appearances : seemingly
a statement ostensibly true
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