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ostensible

 - 3 dictionary results

os⋅ten⋅si⋅ble

  [o-sten-suh-buhl]
–adjective
1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.
2. apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories.
Use ostensible in a Sentence
Origin:
1720–30; < F < L ostēns(us), var. of ostentus (see ostensive ) + F -ible -ible

Related forms:
os⋅ten⋅si⋅bly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To ostensible
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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Word Origin & History

ostensible 
1762, from Fr. ostensible, from L. ostensus, pp. of ostendere "to show," from ob "in front of" + tendere "to stretch" (see tenet).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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