ostensible
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Like that movie, “Remake” has an ostensible central subject that becomes a mere frame for his actual one.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
Decades of relying on the rules of an ostensible meritocracy, however, have proven one thing: that it's an illusory social ideal.
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2025
But the movie is more effective as a grim, involving cop thriller than it is as an ostensible statement on the Order’s reverberations in the present.
From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2024
The resulting document, released late last year, is something of a paradox—a list of ostensible directives that are couched in voluntary language, with nobody empowered to enforce them.
From Slate • Dec. 5, 2024
The word was blunder; and as Harriet exultingly proclaimed it, there was a blush on Jane’s cheek which gave it a meaning not otherwise ostensible.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
Vocabulary lists containing ostensible
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
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