ostensible
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ostensible
- /ɒˈstɛns.ɪ.bəl/ UK
- /ɑˈstɛns.ɪ.bəl/ US
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French ostensible, formed with the suffix -ible, from Latin ostensus, the past participle of ostendō (“show”), itself from obs- (“in front of”) (akin to ob- (“in the way”)) + tendō (“stretch”) (akin to Ancient Greek τείνω (teínō)). Cf. ostentatious.
adjective more ostensible · most ostensible
- Apparent, evident; meant for open display. Motives, of course, may be mixed; but this only means that a man aims at a variety of goals by means of the same course of action. Similarly a man may have a strong motive or a weak one, an ulterior motive or an ostensible one.
- Appearing as such; being such in appearance; professed, supposed (rather than demonstrably true or real). The ostensible reason for his visit to New York was to see his mother, but the real reason was to get to the Yankees game the next day.
Opposite: ulterior
Thesaurus
adjective
Opposite: ulterior
Translations
Every language
adj meant for open display; apparent
| Español | ostensible |
|---|---|
| Português | aparente |
| Français | ostensible |
| Deutsch | anscheinend, augenscheinlich, offenbar, scheinbar, ostensiv, ostensibel |
| Ελληνικά | φαινομενικός fainomenikós |
| Русский | явный javnyj, очевидный očevidnyj |
adj appearing as such; professed, supposed
| Español | ostensible |
|---|---|
| Português | aparente, pretenso |
| Français | ostensible |
| Deutsch | scheinbar, vordergründig, vorgeblich, angeblich, vorgeschoben |
| Русский | формальный formalʹnyj |
Talk about this word "ostensible." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ostensible. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ostensible. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ostensible "ostensible." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ostensible.Cite this
@misc{ostensible_2026,
title = {ostensible},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ostensible},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
