ostensively

adverb

as in seemingly
to all outward appearances he stops by his old office periodically, ostensively just to say "hi"

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostensively
  1. seemingly
  2. apparently
  3. ostensibly
  4. supposedly
  5. evidently
  6. presumably
Adverb
  • Especially when your polling is no doubt telling you that progressives and anti-capitalists will struggle to trust any billionaire, however seemingly benign.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • For some, the seemingly lax federal regulation and pending litigation around prediction markets raised alarm bells.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of seemingly
Adverb
  • But the market for all things Holmes apparently still hasn’t been saturated.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026
  • It is apparently filled with hateful thoughts toward non-white people, especially those who are Indian.
    — Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of apparently
Adverb
  • The district judge confined Biddy and most of the Black children in the county jail, ostensibly for their own protection from their unscrupulous enslaver.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner and questioning the credibility of India’s ostensibly independent institutions.
    — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of ostensibly
Adverb
  • And the coach of the supposedly Super Bowl-favorite Rams is frustrated.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • This is among the many depredations that this supposedly mainstream Administration has committed.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of supposedly
Adverb
  • And that, evidently, made all the difference for him in the bedroom.
    — Bob Brody, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
  • And once Popovic was on the floor, Auriemma evidently did not want to sit her down.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of evidently
Adverb
  • As of now, Game 6 would (presumably) take place at the much smaller Gateway Center Arena.
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • According to Vogue, on display in the sunroom (presumably where Dietrich is pictured here) was a piece called Zebra and Black Panther With Cacti, signed by the artist Charles Baskerville.
    — Juliana Ukiomogbe, Architectural Digest, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of presumably
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

ostensive
ostensively
ostentation
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Cite this Entry

“Ostensively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostensively. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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