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
Adverb
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Over a dozen decided to vie for the four open seats on the board, seemingly prompted by controversy over what has become the No. 1 divisive issue in Idaho: LGBTQ+ Pride flags.—
Sarah A. Miller,
Idaho Statesman,
28 May 2025 -
This will also return not even to immediately resolve the cliffhanger where Abby seemingly shoots Ellie, as most of that season is going to be Abby’s story occurring at the same time as Ellie’s story this past season.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
Adverb
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The idea was apparently rejected by the movie’s insurance company, for fear that the drug would leave Cruise paralyzed forever.—
Tyler Foggatt,
New Yorker,
24 May 2025
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Cannes got its own cliff-hanger ending on Saturday, the final day of the 78th film festival, when a power outage, apparently caused by deliberate sabotage, shut down the power grid serving the city and much of the surrounding region.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2025
Adverb
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The president visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, but not Israel, ostensibly America’s main ally in the region.—
Daniel Byman,
The Atlantic,
24 May 2025
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In one of his only performances as an ostensibly normal guy, Cruise brings magnificent dirtbag energy to War of the Worlds' Ray, a working-class deadbeat dad whose one weekend with his kids (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) overlaps with an alien invasion.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
24 May 2025
Adverb
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The tomb of Charles Feltman, a restaurateur who supposedly invented the hot dog, is nicer than my apartment.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
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Finding sand in your supposedly clean laundry is another sign.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
1 June 2025
Adverb
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The location was evidently a sacred place where the ancient buried their dead and saber-tooth tigers snarled.—
Sean Kingsley,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2025
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Peele, the director of Get Out, Us and Nope, is evidently no stranger to comedy or voice acting and has had previous voice roles in films like Storks and Toy Story 4.—
Yasmeen Hamadeh,
People.com,
23 May 2025
Adverb
-
Reckoning playing Impossible Mission Agent Ethan Hunt for presumably the final time.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
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The barrage from deep had the Knicks on their heels despite a presumably safe lead.—
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
22 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Ostensively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostensively. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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