ostensible
os·ten·si·ble/ɑˈstɛns.ɪ.bəl/adjective
ostensible is spelled O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-E: 10 letters and 4 syllables (os·ten·si·ble). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ostensible means “Apparent, evident; meant for open display” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ostensible?
| Letters | 10: O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: os·ten·si·ble |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,954th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ostensible?
Ostensible appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ostensible?
- UK /ɒˈstɛns.ɪ.bəl/
- US /ɑˈstɛns.ɪ.bəl/
Ostensible has 4 syllables, split os·ten·si·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-ostensible.wav, Ostensible-us-pron.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ostensible?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ostensible from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnsɪbəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ostensible
- more ostensible comparative
- most ostensible superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ostensible mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 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.
- 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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ostensible in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ostensible |
| German | anscheinend, augenscheinlich, offenbar, scheinbar, ostensiv, ostensibel |
| Portuguese | aparente , pretenso |
| Spanish | ostensible |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ostensible come from?
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. ostentatious.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).