ostensively

adverb

as in seemingly
to all outward appearances he stops by his old office periodically, ostensively just to say "hi"

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostensively
  1. seemingly
  2. apparently
  3. ostensibly
  4. supposedly
  5. evidently
  6. presumably
Adverb
  • Reaves hit a seemingly impossible baseline fadeaway in the first quarter, flinging the ball almost over the backboard.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2026
  • Nacua, seemingly open all afternoon, was the target on 19 of those attempts.
    — Andrew Gillis, Baltimore Sun, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of seemingly
Adverb
  • The near-deadlock was partly produced because voters, apparently weary of New Zealand's economic woes and apathetic about both Luxon and Hipkins, chose to propel a new entrant group to Parliament for the first time in years.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • But for Mao, the occasional allergic reaction is apparently a small price to pay for some quality cat time.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of apparently
Adverb
  • The skatepark, architecturally inspired by famous skate spots across the British capital, has ostensibly been a major hit.
    — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Beyond mashups, how should a model like Claude ensure there’s a difference between a direct re-creation of Tetris (ostensibly disallowed by the new prompt) and a mere game in the Tetris genre (ostensibly allowed by the prompt)?
    — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of ostensibly
Adverb
  • Miles is the head of Fishers of Men Community Development Corporation, which is supposedly headquartered at the old Larimer School.
    — Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The newest prosecution of Comey, because of a supposedly threatening arrangement of seashells on a beach, is equally unlikely to stand up under prevailing law.
    — David Baldacci, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of supposedly
Adverb
  • For the site of their hard launch, the odd couple chose Perfecting Church, a Black church in Detroit, evidently seeking to exploit the aura of social justice implicit in the Black faith tradition.
    — Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Then came the evidently now-obligatory Harrison Butker missed field goal, and a nearly instant Denver touchdown to take the lead.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of evidently
Adverb
  • The trailers were recovered by police nearby, presumably after the criminals cut the locks to reveal they were each loaded with 20,000 pounds of sand.
    — Nick Indge, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Stallone returned to his typewriter (or, presumably by this time, laptop) in 2006 to revisit Rocky Balboa for the sequel of the same name, and the project seems to have reignited something in the writer’s artistic soul.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of presumably
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

ostensive
ostensively
ostentation
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Cite this Entry

“Ostensively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostensively. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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