Ostensibly
/ɒˈstɛn.sɪ.bli/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
advSeemingly, apparently, on the surface; supposedly, according to representations or implications made by someone (especially when their motives are suspected by others).
Sentence Examples
The rise in ticket prices was ostensibly to pay for improvements to the service.
Tom was ostensibly at the zoo.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
He ____ agreed to the plan, but he privately planned to oppose it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company was ____ restructuring to improve efficiency, but many employees suspected layoffs were coming.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English ostensible Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English ostensibly From ostensible + -ly.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"On 13 June the peshwa signed a new treaty, ostensibly complying with the demands of the British government[…]"
— 1889, Leslie Stephen, Sidney Lee, Dictionary of National Biography:
"Up to a year or two ago it had been the custom to kill horses in the yards — ostensibly for fertilizer; […]"
— 1905 April–October, Upton Sinclair, chapter IX, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 26 February 1906, →OCLC:
"The original branch was 5¾ miles long, from Llantrisant to Cowbridge only, but in 1889, the T.V.R. [Taff Vale Railway] obtained powers […] to continue the line for 6½ miles south to the coast at Aberthaw, ostensibly for the purpose of serving the important limestone works there, but one suspects other motives, including an understandable desire on the part of the T.V.R. to put a spoke in the wheel of the oncoming Barry Railway !"
— 1951 December, T. B. Sands, “Some Railway Byways in the Vale of Glamorgan”, in Railway Magazine, page 838:
"People strive to achieve perfection — ostensibly an honorable goal — but complete perfection is dangerous. To be imperfect, but human, is far preferable."
— 2007, Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson, Sandworms of Dune:
"Mr. Marwan’s story — a tale overflowing with the suspense and ruthless duplicity of a spy novel — began to take shape in the spring of 1969. He had come to London, ostensibly to consult a Harley Street doctor about a stomach ailment. He chose to be examined by a doctor whose offices had been used previously for a covert meeting between King Hussein of Jordan and the general director of the Israeli prime minister’s office.""
— 2007 April 10, Howard Blum, “Who Killed Ashraf Marwan?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2023, retrieved 18 Sep 2015:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He ____ agreed to the plan, but he privately planned to oppose it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company was ____ restructuring to improve efficiency, but many employees suspected layoffs were coming.