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
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
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
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
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Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
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