ostensible

adjective os·ten·si·ble \ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-bəl, ə-\

: seeming or said to be true or real but very possibly not true or real

Full Definition of OSTENSIBLE

: intended for display : open to view

: being such in appearance : plausible rather than demonstrably true or real <the ostensible purpose for the trip>

See ostensible defined for English-language learners

See ostensible defined for kids

Examples of OSTENSIBLE

That intelligence and those facts, of course, all pertained to Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, the war's ostensible casus belli, which we now know did not exist. —Frank Rich, New York Review, 6 Apr. 2006
To listen again to “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do”—probably the most relentlessly cheerful song ever written on the ostensible theme of misery—is at once to admire its delicately judged textures and Swiss-watch precision … —Geoffrey O'Brien, New York Review of Books, 15 Dec. 2005
Its ostensible subject is America's murderous gun culture. Its real subject, of course, is the ravenous ego of its director-star, Michael Moore. —Scott Berg, Time, 14 July 2003
It's a snarky, glory-thieving place, the world of big-bucks political fund raising. Ostensible grownups can be reduced to screaming toddlers over who gets the credit for bringing in a major donor's gift … —Viveca Novak, Time, 14 June 1999
[+]more [-]hide

Origin of OSTENSIBLE

French, from Latin ostensus, past participle of ostendere to show, from obs-, ob- in the way + tendere to stretch — more at ob-, thin

First Known Use: circa 1771

Related to OSTENSIBLE

Synonyms: assumed, evident, apparent, ostensive, presumed, prima facie, putative, reputed, seeming, supposed

Synonym Discussion of OSTENSIBLE

apparent, illusory, seeming, ostensible mean not actually being what appearance indicates. apparent suggests appearance to unaided senses that may or may not be borne out by more rigorous examination or greater knowledge <the apparent cause of the accident>. illusory implies a false impression based on deceptive resemblance or faulty observation, or influenced by emotions that prevent a clear view <an illusory sense of security>. seeming implies a character in the thing observed that gives it the appearance, sometimes through intent, of something else <the seeming simplicity of the story>. ostensible suggests a discrepancy between an openly declared or naturally implied aim or reason and the true one <the ostensible reason for their visit>.