as in apparently
to all outward appearances
ostensibly a university student studying abroad, he was actually an espionage agent
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Recent Examples of ostensibly
Assailing new rules for more efficient tankless gas water heaters by 2029, Trump launched into an ostensibly broader pro-natural gas screed.
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Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
These ostensibly, and sometimes actually did, promote human rights, freer trade, democracy, and multilateral cooperation.
—Alexander Cooley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
And these are perhaps the virtues that are most needed in a world where the powerful have the impunity to break things in the name of science, and where science can give us only an objective, ostensibly value-neutral view of reality.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025
French director François Ozon is at his most elegantly slippery here — however, anyone, even an ostensibly virtuous grandmother, may harbor secrets and desires too dark to name.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ostensibly 
Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
These ostensibly, and sometimes actually did, promote human rights, freer trade, democracy, and multilateral cooperation.
—Alexander Cooley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
And these are perhaps the virtues that are most needed in a world where the powerful have the impunity to break things in the name of science, and where science can give us only an objective, ostensibly value-neutral view of reality.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025
French director François Ozon is at his most elegantly slippery here — however, anyone, even an ostensibly virtuous grandmother, may harbor secrets and desires too dark to name.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ostensibly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostensibly
Adverb
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In their five years of knowing each other, this is the first time that Johnny Mac has been invited over to Thadeus’s apartment—though that, apparently, had not been enough to move Thadeus’s housekeeping hand.Han Ong, The New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2025
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Donald Trump and Mike Pence Shake Hands During First Interaction in Nearly 4 Years Pence also addressed his wife Karen, 68, apparently staring straight ahead and declining to acknowledge Trump and Melania in a seemingly tense moment that was caught on tape.Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 12 Jan. 2025
Adverb
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The movie, which will have its European premiere at the fest, revolves around a young father whose hold on reality crumbles as a seemingly malign presence begins to stalk him following the death of his wife.Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 16 Jan. 2025
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The video features the Joy-Con seemingly snapping to a cover as though attracted by a magnetic force.Ash Parrish, The Verge, 16 Jan. 2025
Adverb
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Nevertheless, she’s missed the connection slated to take her farther west, over the mountains to a place called Crooks Springs, where her husband is supposedly living, but possibly not waiting.Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025
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This 21-feet-high wire mesh art installation has an eerie vibe, reflecting the hundreds-year-old legend of a ghost schooner that’s supposedly been seen floating in the strait separating Nova Scotia from Prince Edward Island.Jeanine Barone, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
Adverb
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They were presumably circulated, handled and sometimes redeposited.Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 11 Jan. 2025
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It was presumably dropped into the federal melting pot to become the first but unacknowledged coinage of California gold.Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025
Adverb
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Many were left in tears by what De La Rosa chose to pack, as some of the items evidently have sentimental value.John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
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The old ayatollah’s project has evidently run aground—and Iran’s pragmatists have fresh wind in their sails.Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
Adverb
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Antar said that with the granite base, the sculpture probably weighs closer to 90 pounds.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
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The rest of us will probably have to keep our phone chargers for now.Allison Johnson, The Verge, 7 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near ostensibly
Cite this Entry
“Ostensibly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostensibly. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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