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

Giles, their left wing-back, seemingly does not stop running.

— Stuart James, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
The latter ensured fewer protests against seemingly endless deployments but also meant that a disproportionate share of the population would bear the burden.

— Michael E. Neagle, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of seemingly

Adverb

The brothers were apparently never scheduled to appear at the conference, though journalists and fans in the room seemed to not be aware of this.

— Ellise Shafer, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Although law firms are beginning to embrace the benefits of generative AI, the technology apparently makes many law schools squeamish.

— Sian Leah Beilock, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of apparently

Adverb

The result is a twisted, naturalistic fairytale about structural realities; with the right boot-heel at one’s neck, even ostensibly life-giving forces like forests and rivers can be turned against innocent people.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
But challengers emerged and weakened its quest for dominance, often with different models ostensibly tailored to be more local.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of ostensibly

Adverb

In a house that saw two grisly murders, and is supposedly haunted.

— Steve Belanger, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
Without anymore than that and taking into account several black eye losses for the conference, metrics the playoff committee supposedly uses like SOS and SOR will likely be dragged down.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of supposedly

Adverb

Under such a contract, customers (like the Navy) will request Seasat to supply the boats, launch them, maintain them, operate the autonomous system, and presumably provide the sensor/data service.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
That his family doesn’t aggressively question him and the director doesn’t aggressively question him presumably is what allowed Tez to do this wild thing in the first place, and helps the documentary simulate objectivity.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 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 17 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ostensively

adverb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

watershed

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18

Popular

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes