ostensible definition | Dictionary.com

os⋅ten⋅si⋅ble

[o-sten-suh-buh

–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 ostēns(us), var. of ostentus (see ostensive ) + F -ible -ible

Related forms:

os⋅ten⋅si⋅bly, adverb

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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os·ten·si·ble (ŏ-stěn'sə-bəl)

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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : ostensible

Spanish: aparente,

German: angeblich,

Japanese: うわべだけの

More Translations »

ostensible

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

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