apparent suggests appearance to unaided senses that may or may not be borne out by more rigorous examination or greater knowledge.
the apparent cause of the accident
illusory implies a false impression based on deceptive resemblance or faulty observation, or influenced by emotions that prevent a clear view.
an illusory sense of security
seeming implies a character in the thing observed that gives it the appearance, sometimes through intent, of something else.
the seeming simplicity of the story
ostensible suggests a discrepancy between an openly declared or naturally implied aim or reason and the true one.
the ostensible reason for their visit
Examples of illusory in a Sentence
an illusory sense of security
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Wells’s attempt to hold the two in balance relied on a division between art and politics, but that division is entirely illusory.—Kamila Shamsie
june 20, Literary Hub, 20 June 2025 Freedom without effective enforcement is illusory, as history repeatedly demonstrates.—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 18 June 2025 The viewer doesn’t hold all that much sway over Stefan’s outcomes, but the illusory nature of free will is part of the point Bandersnatch is trying to make.—Charles Bramesco, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025 But in the case of Sudan’s current civil war, any hope that negotiations, if they can be started, will result in lasting peace is illusory.—Mai Hassan, Foreign Affairs, 30 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for illusory
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