Ostensibly

Adverb

 * 1)  seemingly, apparently, on the surface
 * 2) * 1889, Leslie Stephen, Sidney Lee, Dictionary of national biography
 * On 13 June the peshwa signed a new treaty, ostensibly complying with the demands of the British government...
 * 1) * 1906, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle
 * Up to a year or two ago it had been the custom to kill horses in the yards — ostensibly for fertilizer...
 * 1) * 2007, Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson, Sandworms of Dune
 * People strive to achieve perfection — ostensibly an honorable god — but complete perfection is dangerous. To be imperfect, but human, is far preferable.

Synonyms

 * apparently, arguably, at first blush, seemingly, ostensively

Related terms

 * ostensive

Thesaurus
allegedly, apparently, arrantly, artificially, as a cover, as a pretext, as an excuse, as it seems, at first sight, avowedly, blatantly, boldly, clearly, conspicuously, demonstrably, erroneously, evidently, externally, factitiously, falsely, flagrantly, for public consumption, for the record, glaringly, in name only, manifestly, markedly, nominally, notably, noticeably, notoriously, obtrusively, obviously, on the surface, ostensively, outstandingly, outwardly, patently, plainly, plausibly, prima facie, professedly, prominently, pronouncedly, purportedly, saliently, seemingly, spuriously, staringly, strikingly, superficially, synthetically, to all appearances, to all seeming, to the eye, truthlessly, ungenuinely, unnaturally, untruly, unveraciously

Etymology
, from ostensible:, from  ostensus:, past participle of ostendo:, from ob: + tendo:.

Pronunciation

 * or

Translations

 * Dutch: ,
 * Finnish:
 * French: soi-disant, en apparence
 * Greek: φαινομενικά, κατ' επίφασιν


 * Serbo-Croatian:
 * Cyrillic: тобоже
 * Roman: tobože
 * Spanish: