ostensibly
/ɒˈstɛn.sɪ.bli/
"ostensibly" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ostensibly” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,382 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #18,382
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Seemingly, apparently, on the surface; supposedly, according to representations or implications made by someone (especially when their motives are suspected by others).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ostensibly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ɒˈstɛn.sɪ.bli/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #18,382 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ostensibly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ostensibly is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɒˈstɛn.sɪ.bli/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,382 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Seemingly, apparently, on the surface; supposedly, according to representations or implications made by someone (especially when their motives are suspected by others).".
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for ostensibly, with forms such as "osetnsibly", "osstensibly", and "ostenisbly". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From ostensible + -ly. The correct English form is ostensibly, spelled O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Seemingly, apparently, on the surface; supposedly, according to representations or implications made by someone (especially when their motives are suspected by others).
Etymology
From ostensible + -ly.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: osetnsibly,osstensibly,ostenisbly,ostennsibly,ostensbily,ostensibbly,ostensiblly,ostensiblyy,ostensibyl,ostensilby,ostenssibly,ostesnibly,ostnesibly,osttensibly,otsensibly,sotensibly
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ostensibly - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ostensibly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɒˈstɛn.sɪ.bli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.