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ostensible
adjective [before noun] /ɒsˈten.sɪ.bl̩/
/ɑːˈsten-/ formalDefinition
› appearing or claiming to be one thing when it is really something else: Their ostensible goal was to clean up government corruption, but their real aim was to unseat the government.Seeming and purporting to beFaking and pretending ostensibly
/-bli/ adverb › He has spent the past three months in Florida, ostensibly for medical treatment, but in actual fact to avoid prosecution.Seeming and purporting to beFaking and pretending
(Definition of ostensible adjective from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
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SMART Thesaurus: Seeming and purporting to be
Synonyms and related words:
- apparent adjective
- appear verb (SEEM)
- as if/though idiom
- by the look(s) of things idiom
- come across phrasal verb (BEHAVE)
- come over phrasal verb (SEEM)
- formal adjective (OFFICIAL)
- on the face of it idiom
- outward adjective (ON OUTSIDE)
- persona noun
- prima facie adjective
- putative adjective
- seemingly adverb
- semblance noun
- so-called adjective
- superficial adjective (FALSE APPEARANCE)
- supposed adjective (OTHERS' OPINION)
- supposedly adverb
- surface adjective (APPEARANCE)
- surface noun (APPEARANCE)
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