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ostensibly

American  
[o-sten-suh-blee] / ɒˈstɛn sə bli /

adverb

  1. in appearance only; supposedly.

    The event was ostensibly for charity, but he mainly used it to promote his new book.

Other Word Forms

  • nonostensibly adverb
  • unostensibly adverb

Etymology

Origin of ostensibly

First recorded in 1760–70; ostensib(le) ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

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.