The Meaning of Ostensibly: What It Is and How To Use It

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Ostensibly may seem like a advanced word at first glance. In reality, the definition of this word of the day is quite simple. In this article, not only will you learn the definition of the word ostensibly, but you will also learn how to use ostensibly in a sentence, learn translations of ostensibly, and more! 

Ostensibly, by the end of this article, you will be an expert on the word ostensibly.

What Does Ostensibly Mean?

According to Dictionary, the word ostensibly is an adverb that means seemingly or apparently. The adjective form of the word ostensibly is ostensible. Ostensible is four syllables (os-ten-sib-ly), and the pronunciation of the word ostensibly is ɒˈstɛns i blē.

How Can We Use Ostensibly in a Sentence?

Ostensibly has a sister word: ostensible. The word ostensible is an adjective, which is a word that describes nouns. Meanwhile, ostensibly is an adverb, which is a word that describes verbs. In the example sentences below, identify which form of this word is being used and what part of speech it is.

Example #1: Game Night

For no ostensible purpose, the young boy I was babysitting was desperate to play Scrabble even though he could not read or spell.

Question: Which word is used in the above sentence, ostensibly or ostensible? Which part of speech is it?

Answer: Ostensible, adjective.

Example #2: The Break-Up

The high school sweethearts who had been together for fifteen years were ostensibly going to get married. In the end, they broke things off in search of new experiences.

Question: Which word is used in the above sentence, ostensibly or ostensible? Which part of speech is it?

Answer: Ostensibly; adverb.

Example #3: Game Night

He wanted to develop apps for the ostensible reason that many people who found start-ups are millionaires, but he did not realize how hard it was to run a company.

Question: Which word is used in the above sentence, ostensibly or ostensible? Which part of speech is it?

Answer: Ostensible; adjective.

Example #4: The Vacation

Ostensibly, our all-expenses-paid vacation to the Bahamas would be amazing. However, the fact that the airline lost our luggage wasn’t a good start.

Question: Which word is used in the above sentence, ostensibly or ostensible? Which part of speech is it?

Answer: Ostensibly; adverb.

Example #5: Studying the City

For her project on her favorite city, the young girl who was obsessed with musicals picked an ostensible subject: New York City.

Question: Which word is used in the above sentence, ostensibly or ostensible? Which part of speech is it?

Answer: Ostensible; adjective.

What Is the Etymology of Ostensibly?

The word ostensibly is French in origin, from the Latin ostensus, ostendere, tendere, and ostend.

What Are Translations of Ostensibly?

Take a look at these translations of ostensibly from Nice Translator to learn how to say it in languages other than American English:

  • Latvian: šķietami
  • Serbian: наводно
  • Danish: Tilsyneladende
  • Turkish: görünüşte
  • Spanish: aparentemente
  • Thai: อย่างเห็นได้ชัด
  • Slovenian: navidezno
  • Hindi: जाहिरा तौर पर
  • Ukrainian: нібито
  • Hebrew: לִכאוֹרָה
  • Greek: φαινομενικά
  • Czech: zdánlivě
  • Catalan: ostensiblement
  • Portuguese (Brazil): ostensivamente
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 表面上
  • Gujarati: દેખીતી રીતે
  • Malay: secara kononnya
  • Finnish: näennäisesti
  • Chinese (PRC): 表面上
  • Portuguese (Portugal): ostensivamente
  • Dutch: ogenschijnlijk
  • Korean: 표면적으로
  • Italian: apparentemente
  • Basque: ostsibly
  • Swahili: dhahiri
  • Kannada: ಮೇಲಕ್ಕೆ
  • Filipino: Ostensibly
  • Lithuanian: Akivaizdu
  • Slovak: zdanlivo
  • Japanese: 表向き
  • Swedish: till synes
  • Vietnamese: bề ngoài
  • Telugu: స్పష్టంగా
  • Norwegian: tilsynelatende
  • Marathi: स्पष्टपणे
  • Tamil: வெளிப்படையாக
  • Indonesian: Sepertinya
  • Russian: как будто бы
  • French: en apparence
  • Hungarian: látszólag
  • Amharic: በርቷል
  • Polish: pozornie
  • Bengali: স্পষ্টতই
  • Romanian: în mod evident
  • Bulgarian: Очевидно
  • German: angeblich
  • Croatian: navodno
  • Welsh: yn ôl pob golwg
  • Arabic: ظاهريا
  • Malayalam: പ്രത്യക്ഷത്തിൽ
  • Urdu: واضح طور پر
  • Icelandic: að því er virðist
  • Estonian: näiliselt

What Are Synonyms of Ostensibly?

Power Thesaurus lists several related words that have the same definition as ostensibly:

  • according to the grapevine
  • all appearances
  • all seeming
  • alleged
  • allegedly
  • apparently
  • as it seems
  • as rumor has it
  • at a glance
  • at first glance
  • at first sight
  • avowedly
  • by all accounts
  • clearly
  • conspicuously
  • doubtlessly
  • evidently
  • externally
  • extraneously
  • falsely
  • flimsily
  • frivolously
  • from the outside
  • ignorantly
  • in all likelihood
  • in appearance
  • intuitively
  • it appears
  • it appears that
  • it seems
  • it seems that
  • it would seem
  • manifestly
  • nominally
  • not profoundly
  • not thoroughly
  • obviously
  • officially
  • on the face of it
  • on the surface
  • outwardly
  • patently
  • plainly
  • plausibly
  • presumably
  • prima facie
  • probably
  • professedly
  • purportedly
  • putatively
  • reportedly
  • reputedly
  • seemingly
  • so i’m told
  • so the story goes
  • speciously
  • superficially
  • supposedly
  • surface
  • the casual eye
  • visibly

What Are Antonyms of Ostensibly?

Power Thesaurus also provides words that opposites of the word ostensibly — AKA, antonyms:

  • absolutely
  • accurately
  • actually
  • assuredly
  • at bottom
  • at heart
  • at its core
  • at one’s core
  • at the bottom of the heart
  • au fond
  • authentically
  • basically
  • built-in
  • certainly
  • clearly
  • concretely
  • de facto
  • decidedly
  • deep down
  • deep down in one’s heart
  • deep down inside
  • deep in one’s heart
  • deep inside
  • deep-down
  • deep-felt
  • deeply
  • deeply felt
  • definitely
  • doubtless
  • effectively
  • essentially
  • felt deeply
  • felt strongly
  • fundamentally
  • hardly likely
  • hidden from others
  • if truth be told
  • improbably
  • in essence
  • in fact
  • in heart of hearts
  • in inmost feelings
  • in my secret heart
  • in one’s deepest heart
  • in one’s heart
  • in one’s heart of hearts
  • in one’s inmost feelings
  • in one’s innermost thoughts
  • in one’s inward soul
  • in one’s mind
  • in one’s secret soul
  • in one’s soul
  • in ones heart of hearts
  • in point of fact
  • in secret
  • in spite of appearance
  • in the background
  • in the depth of one’s heart
  • in your heart of hearts
  • inside
  • insignificantly
  • internally
  • inwardly
  • longstanding
  • most importantly
  • privately
  • really
  • secretly
  • substantially
  • trivially
  • truly
  • unlikely
  • unofficially
  • virtually
  • within

Conclusion

Ostensibly (ɒˈstens i bli) is an adverb that means supposedly or apparently. Try using new words like ostensibly in a sentence today!

Sources:

Ostensibly synonyms – 223 Words and Phrases for Ostensibly | Power Thesaurus 

Ostensibly Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

Ostensibly antonyms – 72 Opposites of Ostensibly | Power Thesaurus  

Ostensibly | Nice Translator