OSTENSIVELY Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

ostensively

adverb

as in seemingly

to all outward appearances he stops by his old office periodically, ostensively just to say "hi"

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostensively

Adverb

The on-board algorithms that decide how and when to deploy the car's electrical hybrid power were seemingly thwarted by the drivers using less acceleration than usual to deal with the slippery conditions.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
In Massachusetts and Maine, that approval is also contingent on the federal government finding a long-term solution to the seemingly intractable problem of storing radioactive nuclear waste.

— John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of seemingly

Adverb

There wasn’t a penalty on the play, but the NFL apparently saw something amiss.

— Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026
Commissioner Josh Davidson countered that Pourharton’s figures apparently didn’t include income from his commission on Valero gas sales or on lottery tickets.

— Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of apparently

Adverb

Pike is in critical condition and receiving life-saving medical care after being injected with two ostensibly fatal doses of pentobarbital, her attorneys said Thursday.

— Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
The kettle ostensibly includes a spout through which people are released as molecules are split from their collective bonds.

— Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of ostensibly

Adverb

Even a pair of loofahs, presumably used, were supposedly left hanging in the bathroom.

— Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
Because the movie shies away from condemnation, it has been labeled by some as a MAGA film for supposedly demonizing progressive Norway and making the conservative Gheorghius the victims.

— Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of supposedly

Adverb

Of course, there are also age-old hustles so evidently dishonest that there was a time when their exponents risked being hung or shot.

— Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
He was called up by Zidane to this squad but remains uncapped at senior level and is evidently behind Jacquet in the coach’s thoughts, having been regarded as the outstanding young defender on the market two years ago.

— Oliver Kay, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of evidently

Adverb

These messages, presumably written by students, are arguably reductive in their analysis.

— Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2026
Her former research partner has absconded with her life’s work, presumably to put toward greedy human means of Manifest Destiny.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of presumably

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ostensive

ostensively

ostentation

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“Ostensively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostensively. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ostensively

adverb

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