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ostensible |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Ostensible \Os*ten"si*ble\, a. [From L. ostensus p. p. of ostendere to show prop., to stretch out before fr prefix obs- (old form of ob-) + tendere to stretch. See {Tend}.] 1. Capable of being shown; proper or intended to be shown. [R.] --Walpole. 2. Shown; exhibited; declared; avowed; professed; apparent; -- often used as opposed to {real} or {actual}; as an ostensible reason, motive, or aim --D. Ramsay. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: ostensible adj 1: 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" [syn: {apparent(a)}, {seeming(a)}] 2: represented or appearing as such pretended; "His ostensible purpose was charity, his real goal popularity" [syn: {ostensive}]
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