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.

Fitzgerald Mosley will need the help of her ostensible supporters if she wants to say just that.

From Salon • Feb. 22, 2026

That Belmondo morphs from appealing photojournalist to unlikable sexual cad while the picture’s ostensible star—Claude Brasseur as an inadvertent cop killer—disappears for long stretches does the picture no favors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

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 ostensible reason for the letter is to thank Theo for the money he’d given Pa. He’s still angry with Theo, but he can’t tolerate the separation anymore.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman