Definitions for ostensibleɒˈstɛn sə bəl
Random House Webster's College Dictionary
os•ten•si•bleɒˈstɛn sə bəl(adj.)
outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended.
Origin of ostensible:
1720–30; < F < L ostēsn(us), var. of ostentus, ptp. of ostendere to present, display (o(b)s-, var. of ob-ob-+tendere to stretch)
os•ten′si•bly(adv.)
Princeton's WordNet
apparent(a), ostensible, seeming(a)(adj)
appearing as such but not necessarily so
"for all his apparent wealth he had no money to pay the rent"; "the committee investigated some apparent discrepancies"; "the ostensible truth of their theories"; "his seeming honesty"
ostensible, ostensive(adj)
represented or appearing as such; pretended
"His ostensible purpose was charity, his real goal popularity"
Wiktionary
ostensible(Adjective)
meant for open display; apparent
ostensible(Adjective)
alleged, having an intention that is possibly but not obviously true
Origin: from ostensus, past participle of ostendere 'to show', itself from obs- in front of (akin to ob- in the way; akin to Greek epi 'on, at, besides, after' and Old English eofot crime) + tendere 'to stretch' (Greek teinein)
Translations for ostensible
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary
ostensible(adjective)
(of reasons etc) apparent, but not necessarily true
Illness was the ostensible reason for his absence, but in fact he was just lazy.
- oënskynlik, skynbaar, kastigAfrikaans
- ظاهِر، واضِحArabic
- привиденBulgarian
- aparentePortuguese (BR)
- předstíraný, zdánlivýCzech
- angeblichGerman
- tilsyneladendeDanish
- φαινομενικόςGreek
- aparenteSpanish
- näilineEstonian
- ظاهریFarsi
- näennäinenFinnish
- prétenduFrench
- מוּצהָרHebrew
- प्रकट, प्रत्यक्षHindi
- prividanCroatian
- állítólagosHungarian
- jelasIndonesian
- yfirskins-Icelandic
- apparente, presuntoItalian
- うわべだけのJapanese
- 표면상의Korean
- tariamas, netikrasLithuanian
- šķietams; ārējsLatvian
- kononnyaMalay
- ogenschijnlijkDutch
- angivelig, tilsynelatende, påståttNorwegian
- rzekomy, pozornyPolish
- ظاهریPersian
- ظاهرىPashto
- aparentePortuguese
- aparentRomanian
- служащий предлогомRussian
- predstieraný, zdanlivýSlovak
- očitenSlovenian
- prividanSerbian
- skenbarSwedish
- เสแสร้งThai
- görünürdeki, sözdeTurkish
- 表面的Chinese (Trad.)
- показний; удаванийUkrainian
- نماياں، ظاہرUrdu
- có vẻ làVietnamese
- 表面的Chinese (Simp.)
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