ostensibly
English
WOTD – 5 April 2007
Etymology
From ostensible + -ly.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɒˈstɛn.sɪ.bli/ or /ɒˈstɛn.sə.bli/
- (US) IPA(key): /ɑːˈstɛn.sə.bli/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Hyphenation: os‧ten‧si‧bly
Adverb
ostensibly (not comparable)
- (modal) Seemingly, apparently, on the surface.
- Synonyms: apparently, arguably, at first blush, seemingly; see also Thesaurus:ostensibly
- 1889, Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, Dictionary of National Biography:
- On 13 June the peshwa signed a new treaty, ostensibly complying with the demands of the British government […]
- 1905, Upton Sinclair, chapter IX, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 26 February 1906, OCLC 1150866071:
- Up to a year or two ago it had been the custom to kill horses in the yards — ostensibly for fertilizer; […]
- 2007, Herbert, Brian; Anderson, Kevin J, Sandworms of Dune:
- People strive to achieve perfection — ostensibly an honorable goal — but complete perfection is dangerous. To be imperfect, but human, is far preferable.
- 2007 April 10, “Who Killed Ashraf Marwan?”, in The New York Times, retrieved 18 September 2015:
- Mr. Marwan’s story — a tale overflowing with the suspense and ruthless duplicity of a spy novel — began to take shape in the spring of 1969. He had come to London, ostensibly to consult a Harley Street doctor about a stomach ailment. He chose to be examined by a doctor whose offices had been used previously for a covert meeting between King Hussein of Jordan and the general director of the Israeli prime minister’s office."
Related terms
- ostensive
Translations
ostensibly
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References
- ostensibly at OneLook Dictionary Search