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

Behind the scenes, Pratt had already fallen hard for Montag, who’d been cast on “The Hills” as lead protagonist Lauren Conrad’s ostensible sidekick and peer at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

This organization’s ostensible goal is to “promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”

From Salon • Jan. 25, 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 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