ostensibly

ostensible +‎ -ly, from French ostensible, from Latin ostensus, past participle of ostendō (“I show”), from ob (“before”) + tendō (“I stretch out”)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɒˈstɛn.sɪ.bli/ or /ɒˈstɛn.sə.bli/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɑːˈstɛn.sə.bli/

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• Hyphenation: os‧ten‧si‧bly

ostensibly (not comparable)

1. (modal) seemingly, apparently, on the surface
   • 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...

   • 1906, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, Chapter 9

     Up to a year or two ago it had been the custom to kill horses in the yards — ostensibly for fertilizer...

   • 2007, Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson, Sandworms of Dune

     People strive to achieve perfection — ostensibly an honorable goal — but complete perfection is dangerous. To be imperfect, but human, is far preferable.

   • 2007 April 10, "Who Killed Ashraf Marwan?," The New York Times (retrieved 18 September 2015):

     Mr. Marwan’s story — a tale overflowing with the suspense and ruthless duplicity of a spy novel — began to take shape in the spring of 1969. He had come to London, ostensibly to consult a Harley Street doctor about a stomach ailment. He chose to be examined by a doctor whose offices had been used previously for a covert meeting between King Hussein of Jordan and the general director of the Israeli prime minister’s office."

• (seemingly): apparently, arguably, at first blush, seemingly

• ostensive