ostensible
adjUK /ɒˈstɛns.ɪ.bəl/ · US /ɑˈstɛns.ɪ.bəl/
Etymology Borrowed from French ostensible, formed with the suffix -ible, from Latin ostensus, the past participle of ostendō (“show”), itself from obs- (“in front of”) (akin to ob- (“in the way”)) + tendō (“stretch”) (akin to Ancient Greek τείνω (teínō)). Cf. also Medieval Latin ostensibilis.
1
Apparent, evident; meant for open display.
- Motives, of course, may be mixed; but this only means that a man aims at a variety of goals by means of the same course of action. Similarly a man may have a strong motive or a weak one, an ulterior motive or an ostensible one.1956–1960, R.S. Peters, The Concept of Motivation, Routledge & Kegan Paul (second edition, 1960), chapter ii: “Motives and Motivation”, page 32
- In witch-trials the conflict was officially defined as between the accused and God, or between the accused and the Catholic (later Protestant) church, as God's earthly representative. […] Behind the ostensible conflict of the witch-trial lay the usual conflicts of social class, values, and human relationships.1974, Thomas S. Szasz, chapter 11, in The Myth of Mental Illness, →ISBN, page 192:
1 more example
- The ostensible reason this provision was added to a bill on international trade is to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a grass-roots campaign that seeks to pressure Israel to change its policies toward the Palestinians.2016 January 26, “When ‘Made In Israel’ Is a Human Rights Abuse”, in The New York Times, retrieved 26 Jan 2016:
2
Appearing as such; being such in appearance; professed, supposed (rather than demonstrably true or real).
- The ostensible reason for his visit to New York was to see his mother, but the real reason was to get to the Yankees game the next day.
- Antonyms
- ulterior
- Derived terms
- inostensible, ostensibility, ostensibly, unostensible
- Related terms
- ostensive, ostentation, ostentatious