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.
But it still makes an awkward fit, tonally, in a book whose ostensible subject had created more light-hearted expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 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
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
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
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