Ostensible — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

appearing as such but not necessarily so

represented or appearing as such; pretended

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ɑːstˈɛnsᵻbəl/

🇬🇧British English

/ɒstˈɛnsɪbəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɒstˈɛnsɪbəl/

3 syllables Say it as /ɑːstˈɛnsᵻbəl/.

Examples

for all his apparent wealth he had no money to pay the rent
the committee investigated some apparent discrepancies
the ostensible truth of their theories

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

apparent ostensive seeming

Parts of Speech

adjective	appearing as such but not necessarily so “for all his apparent wealth he had no money to pay the rent”
adjective	represented or appearing as such; pretended “His ostensible purpose was charity, his real goal popularity”

Word Forms

appear	verb	seem to be true, probable, or apparent
apparentness	noun	the property of being apparent

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

vordergründig

als solche erscheinen, aber nicht unbedingt so

🇪🇸Spanish

aparente

aparecer como tal pero no necesariamente así

🇮🇹Italian

apparente

apparire come tale ma non necessariamente tale

🇳🇱Dutch

ogenschijnlijk

als zodanig verschijnen, maar niet noodzakelijkerwijs zo

🇵🇹Portuguese

ostensivo

aparecendo como tal, mas não necessariamente assim

🇷🇺Russian

мнимый

выглядит так, но не обязательно так

India

🇮🇳Hindi

ख़याली

ऐसा प्रतीत हो रहा है लेकिन जरूरी नहीं कि ऐसा हो

🇧🇩Bengali

প্রকাশ্য

যেমন দেখা যাচ্ছে কিন্তু অগত্যা তেমন নয়

🇮🇳Tamil

வெளிப்படக்கூடிய

அவ்வாறு தோன்றும் ஆனால் அவசியமில்லை

🇮🇳Telugu

ప్రత్యక్షమైన

అలా కనిపిస్తుంది కానీ అవసరం లేదు

🇮🇳Marathi

स्पष्ट

असे दिसते परंतु तसे आवश्यक नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

દેખીતું

જેમ દેખાય છે પરંતુ તે જરૂરી નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ತೋರಿಕೆಯ

ಹಾಗೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ ಆದರೆ ಅಗತ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲ

🇮🇳Malayalam

പ്രത്യക്ഷമായ

അത്തരത്തിൽ പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെടുന്നു, പക്ഷേ അങ്ങനെയായിരിക്കണമെന്നില്ല

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪ੍ਰਤੱਖ

ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਿਖਾਈ ਦੇ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਪਰ ਜ਼ਰੂਰੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਿ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਹੋਵੇ

🇵🇰Urdu

ظاہر

ایسا ظاہر ہوتا ہے لیکن ضروری نہیں کہ ایسا ہو۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

表面上的

看起来如此但不一定如此

🇯🇵Japanese

表向きの

そのように見えますが、必ずしもそうとは限りません

🇰🇷Korean

표면상의

그렇게 보이지만 반드시 그런 것은 아니다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bề ngoài

xuất hiện như vậy nhưng không nhất thiết phải như vậy

🇹🇭Thai

เห็นได้ชัด

ปรากฏเช่นนั้นแต่ไม่จำเป็นต้องเป็นเช่นนั้น

🇮🇩Indonesian

nyata

tampak seperti itu tetapi belum tentu demikian

🇵🇭Filipino

nagpapanggap

lumilitaw na ganoon ngunit hindi naman ganoon

🇲🇾Malay

konon-konon

kelihatan seperti itu tetapi tidak semestinya begitu

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

ظاهري

تظهر على هذا النحو ولكن ليس بالضرورة كذلك

🇮🇷Persian

ظاهری

به عنوان چنین ظاهر می شود اما لزوماً چنین نیست

🇹🇷Turkish

göstermelik

öyle görünüyor ama mutlaka öyle değil

🇮🇱Hebrew

לכאורה

מופיע ככזה אך לא בהכרח כך

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'ostensible'?

The primary meaning of 'ostensible' is 'appearing as such but not necessarily so'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'ostensible' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'ostensible' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'ostensible' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'ostensible' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'ostensible' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

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Never

Do you find 'ostensible' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'ostensible' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'ostensible' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'ostensible' in a professional email?

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Would you classify 'ostensible' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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