nominally

[nom-uh-nl-ee]

adverb

1. by or as regards name; in name; ostensibly.

   He was nominally the leader, but others actually ran the organization.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nominally¹

First recorded in 1655–65; nominal + -ly

Example Sentences

While this book is nominally about a single architect’s career and accomplishments, readers will also learn a great deal about the wider Renaissance from this deft account, which wears its deep scholarship lightly.

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Harriet Dyer plays Colette, sweet and awkward and nominally the ensemble’s main character.

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Four of America’s nominally closest allies — Britain, Australia, France and Canada — disgraced themselves this week by recognizing a so-called Palestinian state.

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But he also took the unusual step of criticizing a ruling of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, to which he nominally reports, for its dangerous acquiescence in the president’s authoritarian agenda.

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The move is nominally intended to target individuals who lied about prior crimes or criminal affiliations during the citizenship application process.

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