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.
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
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
Decades of relying on the rules of an ostensible meritocracy, however, have proven one thing: that it's an illusory social ideal.
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2025
Creamer said there have been no indications that immigrants in Kern County were responsible for a wave of violent crime, the ostensible justification for the raids.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2025
In the following chapters we will see time and again how a dramatic increase in the collective power and ostensible success of our species went hand in hand with much individual suffering.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Vocabulary lists containing ostensible
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Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
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