ostensibly

American  

[o-sten-suh-blee] / ɒˈstɛn sə bli /

adverb

1. in appearance only; supposedly.

   The event was ostensibly for charity, but he mainly used it to promote his new book.

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ostensibly British  

/ ɒˈstɛnsɪblɪ /

adverb

1. (sentence modifier) apparently; seemingly

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Other Word Forms

• nonostensibly adverb
• unostensibly adverb

Etymology

Origin of ostensibly

First recorded in 1760–70; ostensib(le) ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Example Sentences

The oldest of the vulnerabilities uncovered by Mythos dates back 27 years, and none were ostensibly noticed by their makers before being pinpointed by the AI model, according to Anthropic.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Though no real details about the new film were revealed, references to it peppered the conversation as if it were very much on Spielberg’s mind — the film he was ostensibly there to promote.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

However, the Canadian hockey series’ ostensibly novel trail has already been paved by sapphic television shows, many of which were slashed after one or two seasons by major streaming services.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

This ostensibly allows many users to avoid ID checks, but raises even more privacy concerns.

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026

We were up in her room, at her desk, ostensibly to cram for her home school chem test.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

Related Words

• evidently
• officially
• seemingly
• supposedly