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

2

: 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

Synonyms of ostensibly

• apparently
• seemingly
• supposedly
• presumably
• evidently
• probably

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

Recent Examples on the Web

But the underlying difficulties of the three Ts, where the leaders seem to have fundamentally incompatible agendas, remain the thread beneath the ostensibly polite and occasionally amiable conversations. — Rana Mitter, The Conversation, 21 Sep. 2026

It was created by the California Legislature in 1968 after the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles, ostensibly to curb redlining by banks, home sellers and insurers in minority neighborhoods. — Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026

Rubin presses play on a song, ostensibly without warning Carter. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026

News of Loy’s demise barely makes it to Lamb, ostensibly because the death is deemed an accident, but Diana’s motives for keeping it under wraps are worth questioning. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

ostensible + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

1765, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ostensibly

• insensibly
• indispensably
• sensibly

Kids Definition

ostensibly

adverb

os·​ten·​si·​bly ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-blē 

ə-

: to all outward appearances : seemingly

a statement ostensibly true