ostensibly
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
- nonostensibly adverb
- unostensibly adverb
Etymology
Origin of ostensibly
First recorded in 1760–70; ostensib(le) ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some investors get nervous when everything around them is testing new highs, especially when assets such as gold and copper, which ostensibly tell different stories, are pacing the advance.
From Barron's
Some investors get nervous when everything around them is testing new highs, especially when assets such as gold and copper, which ostensibly tell different stories, are pacing the advance.
From Barron's
What’s missing from the discussion is how ostensibly accurate information is selected, framed and emphasized in ways that can shape public perception.
From Salon
It was ostensibly to save energy because of the cold weather, though it was seen by many Iranians as an attempt to contain the protests.
From BBC
Enita, one of the leisure-class Sainted, provides ostensibly useful services to the working class in the last human city of Bulwark—she farms new limbs and organs for those who can’t afford medical care.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
