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
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
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
His ostensible reason, however, was to ask whether Mr. Woodhouse’s party could be made up in the evening without him, or whether he should be in the smallest degree necessary at Hartfield.
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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