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.
Konkle describes her mother’s tantrums as emotional thunderstorms that left her feeling resentful that she, the child, was having to comfort a parent, the ostensible authority figure.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
The book’s ostensible subject is the 1985 trial of Louisiana’s governor, Edwin Edwards, for fraud, bribery and racketeering.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
But notes of disillusion sound throughout this ostensible success story.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
An ostensible crackdown on “waste, fraud and abuse” inside the Social Security Administration is making giving birth even more complicated for some Americans.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2025
His ostensible reason, however, was to ask whether Mr. Woodhouse’s party could be made up in the evening without him, or whether he should be in the smallest degree necessary at Hartfield.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
Vocabulary lists containing ostensible
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Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
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