as in apparently
to all outward appearances
ostensibly a university student studying abroad, he was actually an espionage agent
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Recent Examples of ostensibly
Angered by the role the National Archives played in his documents case, meanwhile, Trump fired the ostensibly independent agency’s head, Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan, and named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as her acting replacement.
—
Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2025
Maresca was able to change the momentum first by bringing on Reece James for Madueke at the interval — ostensibly not a particularly attack-minded change, but a bold one nonetheless.
—Simon Johnson, New York Times, 13 May 2025
The first round of tariffs, ostensibly aimed at reducing the amount of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors illegally brought into the United States but manufactured in China, were established on Feb. 1 and March 3 and each added a 10% tax on U.S. imports from China.
—Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald, 12 May 2025
Trump, we have been told endlessly, has expertly gamed this new world, by weaponizing the decline of traditional news sources to sow division and distrust and, more recently, appearing on podcasts—both political and ostensibly not—that value vibes and authenticity over facts.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ostensibly
Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2025
Maresca was able to change the momentum first by bringing on Reece James for Madueke at the interval — ostensibly not a particularly attack-minded change, but a bold one nonetheless.
—Simon Johnson, New York Times, 13 May 2025
The first round of tariffs, ostensibly aimed at reducing the amount of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors illegally brought into the United States but manufactured in China, were established on Feb. 1 and March 3 and each added a 10% tax on U.S. imports from China.
—Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald, 12 May 2025
Trump, we have been told endlessly, has expertly gamed this new world, by weaponizing the decline of traditional news sources to sow division and distrust and, more recently, appearing on podcasts—both political and ostensibly not—that value vibes and authenticity over facts.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ostensibly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostensibly
Adverb
-
The idea was apparently rejected by the movie’s insurance company, for fear that the drug would leave Cruise paralyzed forever.—
Tyler Foggatt,
New Yorker,
24 May 2025
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Cannes got its own cliff-hanger ending on Saturday, the final day of the 78th film festival, when a power outage, apparently caused by deliberate sabotage, shut down the power grid serving the city and much of the surrounding region.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2025
Adverb
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Seventeen seemingly thrives under high-stress conditions in part because of their focus on mental and physical health.—
Nicole Fell,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2025
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There’s seemingly not much back-and-forth on the lyrical themes or specifics.—
Katherine Turman,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
Adverb
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The list is supposedly about accomplishments and Kirby has fewer in every single metric other than equal championships.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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Juicing, hot yoga, and yes, dry brushing, all supposedly detoxify your body.—
Angela Palmer,
Verywell Health,
20 May 2025
Adverb
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Reckoning playing Impossible Mission Agent Ethan Hunt for presumably the final time.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
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The barrage from deep had the Knicks on their heels despite a presumably safe lead.—
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
22 May 2025
Adverb
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The location was evidently a sacred place where the ancient buried their dead and saber-tooth tigers snarled.—
Sean Kingsley,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2025
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Peele, the director of Get Out, Us and Nope, is evidently no stranger to comedy or voice acting and has had previous voice roles in films like Storks and Toy Story 4.—
Yasmeen Hamadeh,
People.com,
23 May 2025
Adverb
-
Wickham says, over the past year, she's probably spent 200 hours planning.—
Mia Venkat,
NPR,
31 May 2025
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However, the end of the conversation was probably the headline – that Amodei refused to rule out AI becoming self-aware in key ways.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ostensibly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostensibly. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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