Definitions for ostensibly
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
apparently, seemingly, ostensibly, on the face of it(adverb)
from appearances alone
"irrigation often produces bumper crops from apparently desert land"; "the child is seemingly healthy but the doctor is concerned"; "had been ostensibly frank as to his purpose while really concealing it"-Thomas Hardy; "on the face of it the problem seems minor"
Wiktionary
ostensibly(Adverb)
seemingly, apparently, on the surface
Origin: from ostensible, from ostensus, past participle of ostendo, from ob + tendo.
Translations for ostensibly
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary
ostensibly(adverb)
(of reasons etc) apparent, but not necessarily true
Illness was the ostensible reason for his absence, but in fact he was just lazy.
- oënskynlikheidAfrikaans
- كما يَظْهَرArabic
- привидноBulgarian
- aparentementePortuguese (BR)
- zdánlivěCzech
- angeblichGerman
- tilsyneladendeDanish
- φαινομενικάGreek
- aparentementeSpanish
- teeseldultEstonian
- ظاهراًFarsi
- näennäisestiFinnish
- en apparenceFrench
- לְמַראִית עַיִןHebrew
- प्रकट रूप सेHindi
- prividnoCroatian
- látszólag(osan)Hungarian
- dengan jelasIndonesian
- að því er virðistIcelandic
- in apparenzaItalian
- 表向きはJapanese
- 표면상으로Korean
- tariamai, nevaLithuanian
- šķietami; ārējiLatvian
- kononnyaMalay
- ogenschijnlijkDutch
- angivelig, etter altå dømmeNorwegian
- rzekomo, pozorniePolish
- ظاهراًPersian
- ظاهراًPashto
- aparentementePortuguese
- în aparenţăRomanian
- якобыRussian
- zdanlivoSlovak
- očitnoSlovenian
- prividnoSerbian
- skenbartSwedish
- อย่างแสดงให้เห็นภายนอกThai
- görünürdeTurkish
- 表面上Chinese (Trad.)
- удаваноUkrainian
- ظاہري طور پرUrdu
- bề ngoài làVietnamese
- 表面上Chinese (Simp.)
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