ostensibly
Americanadverb
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ostensibly
First recorded in 1760–70; ostensib(le) ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
Ostensibly is an adverb you use to talk about something that looks one way, but underneath there's the hint of a different motivation for that action. One day you go to an ice cream shop. Then the next day. And the next. You keep going, ostensibly to buy ice cream, but there’s a deeper reason. The cute person who works there, perhaps? To ostensibly do something admits that the surface reason might not be the only reason. The Latin root words translate as “to stretch in view of,” so imagine that you’re stretching a thin mask over your true intentions.
Vocabulary lists containing ostensibly
"Marigolds"
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Born a Crime
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This Week in Pop Culture: January 26 - February 1, 2019
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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.
Daniel Travers, defending, said Owen's plan was "frighteningly stupid for a man ostensibly reasonably well educated and intelligent".
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Is her mother’s company really doing this to test out proprietary technology while ostensibly doing a good deed for a grieving parent?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The officials are ostensibly questioning Weist, but they are also, in a sense, questioning their own categories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
On Tuesday, TMZ posted a video of workers putting up fencing around the pool, ostensibly to protect it from vandals.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
Later, he would tell me that he was hearing from some Muslims who were still ostensibly Elijah Muhammad’s followers.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
