Definition of OSTENSIBLE

ostensible

Adjective Satellite

  • appearing as such but not necessarily so
    • "the ostensible truth of their theories"
  • represented or appearing as such; pretended
    • "His ostensible purpose was charity, his real goal popularity"

Adj

  • Apparent, evident; meant for open display.
  • Appearing as such; being such in appearance; professed, supposed (rather than demonstrably true or real).

Examples

  • The ostensible reason for his visit to New York was to see his mother, but the real reason was to get to the Yankees game the next day.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from French ostensible, formed with the suffix -ible, from Latin ostensus, the past participle of ostendō (“show”), itself from obs- (“in front of”) (akin to ob- (“in the way”) and to Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí, “on, at, besides, after”) and Old English eofot (“crime”)) + tendō (“stretch”) (akin to Ancient Greek τείνω (teínō)). Cf. also Medieval Latin ostensibilis.

Antonyms

ulterior

Scrabble Score: 12

ostensible: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
ostensible: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
ostensible: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

ostensible: valid Words With Friends Word