OSTENSIVELY Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

ostensively

adverb

as in seemingly

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostensively

Adverb

And a winning streak that began in the Iowa cornstalks and — seemingly against all odds — continued for nine games, ended with a 9-2 Phillies loss in Seattle.

— Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Shein, which built its empire—seemingly overnight—on $5 tops and $10 dresses that cannily kept pace with rapidly shifting trends, did not respond to a request for comment.

— Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of seemingly

Adverb

Because apparently groceries need to be accelerated urgently.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 22 Aug. 2026
Clancy then ingested prescription medication, slashed her wrists and neck with a knife, and apparently threw herself head first out of a second-story window, resulting in permanent paralysis from the sternum down.

— Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of apparently

Adverb

Diplomacy is ostensibly still underway — Pakistan’s leader is due in Iran today, Oman’s foreign minister tomorrow — and Iran’s politicians have called for an end to war with the US.

— Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 24 Aug. 2026
No one seems bothered that nearly everyone has an Aussie accent, despite this film ostensibly unfolding 100 miles away from Los Angeles (the film was shot in Queensland).

— Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of ostensibly

Adverb

What also rang true for me was the way that, in the course of the season, Deborah said no to so many of the ideas her writers had supposedly submitted.

— Merrill Markoe, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
The drone boat itself supposedly carried explosives, according to Miruță’s comments, as reported by Reuters.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of supposedly

Adverb

It was evidently lost amid the flood of congratulatory messages that arrived on campus that day, and Calhoun didn’t remember it.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026
Thoroughly unimpressed by her suburban idyll, and evidently unmoved by her responsibilities as wife and mother, Denise labors in her basement on a novel whose protagonist wishes to forsake her family for a life in New York.

— Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of evidently

Adverb

Yet, on TikTok, on Threads, and, presumably, in innumerable group texts, a contrarian consensus has flourished.

— Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
That is, as my colleague David Hudnall wrote a day earlier, presumably to avoid a petition forcing a public vote.

— Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 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

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ostensively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostensively. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ostensively

adverb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

southpaw

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes