ostensibly
os·ten·si·bly/ɑˈstɛn.sə.bli/adverb
ostensibly is spelled O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-Y: 10 letters and 4 syllables (os·ten·si·bly). It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, ostensibly means “Seemingly, apparently, on the surface; supposedly, according to representations or implications made by someone (especially when their motives are…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ostensibly?
| Letters | 10: O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: os·ten·si·bly |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is ostensibly?
Ostensibly appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th 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 ostensibly?
- UK /ɒˈstɛn.sɪ.bli/
- US /ɑˈstɛn.sə.bli/
- US /ɔˈstɛn.sə.bli/
Ostensibly has 4 syllables, split os·ten·si·bly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ostensibly.ogg, En-au-ostensibly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does ostensibly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Seemingly, apparently, on the surface; supposedly, according to representations or implications made by someone (especially when their motives are suspected by others).
Near-synonyms: reportedly, reputedly, purportedly, putatively, rumoredly, supposedly, allegedly, possibly, probably, likely, plausibly, presumably; see also Thesaurus:ostensibly
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ostensibly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ostensibly:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ostensiblement, soi-disant, en apparence |
| German | vorgeblich, offenbar, offensichtlich, anscheinend |
| Portuguese | ostensivamente |
| Spanish | ostensiblemente |
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 ostensibly come from?
From ostensible + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).