Ostensible - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

os·ten·si·ble

Audio Help [o-sten-suh-buh

l] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.

2.	apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories.

[Origin: 1720–30; < F < L osténs(us), var. of ostentus (see ostensive) + F -ible -ible

]

—Related forms

os·ten·si·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Ostensible

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

os·ten·si·ble Audio Help (ŏ-stěn'sə-bəl) Pronunciation Key
adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity.

[French, from Medieval Latin ostēnsibilis, from Latin ostēnsus, past participle of ostendere, to show : ob-, ob- + tendere, to stretch; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

os·ten'si·bly adv.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ostensible

1762, from Fr. ostensible, from L. ostensus, pp. of ostendere "to show," from ob "in front of" + tendere "to stretch" (see tenet).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

ostensible
adjective
1.	appearing as such but not necessarily so; "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"; "his seeming honesty" [syn: apparent]
2.	represented or appearing as such; pretended; "His ostensible purpose was charity, his real goal popularity"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ostensible [oˈstensəbl] adjective

(of reasons etc) apparent, but not necessarily true
Example: Illness was the ostensible reason for his absence, but in fact he was just lazy.

Arabic:	ظاهِر، واضِح
Chinese (Simplified):	表面的
Chinese (Traditional):	表面的
Czech:	předstíraný, zdánlivý
Danish:	tilsyneladende
Dutch:	ogenschijnlijk
Estonian:	näiline
Finnish:	näennäinen
French:	prétendu
German:	angeblich
Greek:	φαινομενικός
Hungarian:	állítólagos
Icelandic:	yfirskins-
Indonesian:	jelas
Italian:	apparente, presunto

Japanese:	うわべだけの
Korean:	표면상의
Latvian:	šķietams; ārējs
Lithuanian:	tariamas, netikras
Norwegian:	angivelig, tilsynelatende, påstått
Polish:	rzekomy, pozorny
Portuguese (Brazil):	aparente
Portuguese (Portugal):	aparente
Romanian:	aparent
Russian:	служащий предлогом
Slovak:	predstieraný, zdanlivý
Slovenian:	očiten
Spanish:	aparente
Swedish:	skenbar
Turkish:	görünürdeki, sözde

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ostensible

Os*ten"si*ble\, a. [From L. ostensus, p. p. of ostendere to show, prop., to stretch out before; fr. prefix obs- (old form of ob-) + tendere to stretch. See Tend.]

1. Capable of being shown; proper or intended to be shown. [R.] --Walpole.

2. Shown; exhibited; declared; avowed; professed; apparent; -- often used as opposed to real or actual; as, an ostensible reason, motive, or aim. --D. Ramsay.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day Archive - Cite This Source - Share This

ostensible

ostensible was Word of the Day on September 7, 2002.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

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