as in apparently
to all outward appearances
ostensibly a university student studying abroad, he was actually an espionage agent
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ostensibly
But an ostensibly restorative vacation to Mexico — which Sarah uses as an occasion to introduce her parents to Donimo — only highlights the symptoms of what a doctor eventually diagnoses as early-onset Alzheimer’s.
—
Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 May 2026
Trevor Noah, former host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, was ostensibly the MC for the night.
—Peter White, Deadline, 13 May 2026
Mali and Niger ostensibly rule over large parts of the southern Sahara desert, but state weakness means the actual reach of the central government is limited.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2026
Disney connects the dots between the investigation into The View and Jimmy Kimmel and the broadcast license move, which is ostensibly tied to Disney’s DEI practices.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for ostensibly
Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 May 2026
Trevor Noah, former host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, was ostensibly the MC for the night.
—Peter White, Deadline, 13 May 2026
Mali and Niger ostensibly rule over large parts of the southern Sahara desert, but state weakness means the actual reach of the central government is limited.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2026
Disney connects the dots between the investigation into The View and Jimmy Kimmel and the broadcast license move, which is ostensibly tied to Disney’s DEI practices.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for ostensibly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostensibly
Adverb
-
The ham, apparently, is not the only thing worth exporting from that region.—
Gabriel Alin Zainescu,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
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Though, there is no archival footage of Moulin’s bloody crucible, and Nemes apparently had some interest in filming that.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
Adverb
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Importing higher-paying—and oftentimes higher-achieving—students benefits a school during boom times, when universities have seemingly infinite choice among applicants.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
-
Pro wrestling fans have tried to grapple with Zayn seemingly being pushed out of the title picture.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Adverb
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Every generous gesture, every supposedly respectful question, every delicate expression of complete fixation becomes quietly infected by the growing understanding that Cole sees Māori humanity itself as something ornamental.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
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Even the artists whose work all this machinery is supposedly serving no longer have a reliable way to know what real audiences actually want, since whatever feedback reaches them may already have passed through the same apparatus built to distort that feedback in the first place.—
Lane Brown,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Adverb
-
Netanyahu, presumably, is hoping for just such a stalemate.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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In that release, MCSO included photos of bones and skulls, presumably of deceased bison, and presumably taken on the Lay Valley property.—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
Adverb
-
Far From the Tree, evidently likes to keep her dad active.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
14 May 2026
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Plus, evidently there is no crime or corruption problem in Florida so Uthmeier has lots of free time to meddle in how sports leagues dare align on the side of equal opportunity.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
Adverb
-
Some portion of eligible people are probably discouraged from applying at all, believing the lottery system to be rigged or pointless.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
The Chargers’ last game was a playoff loss to Vrabel’s Patriots, so nothing short of an edict from the NFL probably would have stopped the franchise’s social media team from referencing the Vrabel-Russini controversy.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ostensibly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostensibly. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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