Ostensible (Adjective)
Meaning 1
Represented or appearing as such; pretended; "His ostensible purpose was charity, his real goal popularity".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The company's ostensible goal was to provide a valuable service, but it was clear they were mainly after profit.
- The politician's ostensible commitment to the cause was belied by her subsequent actions.
- His ostensible lack of interest was just a ruse to keep from drawing attention to himself.
- The professor's ostensible authority on the subject was soon undermined by her opponents' discoveries.
- The businessman's ostensible respect for the competition was contradicted by his willingness to undercut them.
Synonyms
Meaning 2
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".
Classification
All adjective clusters.