ostensible
[ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le]
The verdict
“ostensible” is an uncommon Spanish word, ranked #70,500 in Spanish word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #70,500
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Que está a la vista, que se puede comprender, ver o percibir sin mayor dificultad o esfuerzo por ser deliberado, aparente o notorio.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ostensible |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le] |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #70,500 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ostensible” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for ostensible is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le]. Corpus data places it at rank #70,500 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ostensible, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable Spanish rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct Spanish form is ostensible, spelled O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Que está a la vista, que se puede comprender, ver o percibir sin mayor dificultad o esfuerzo por ser deliberado, aparente o notorio.
- 2Que se puede mostrar, manifestar, exhibir, poner ante la vista o la percepción.
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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "ostensible"?
What does "ostensible" mean?
How do you pronounce "ostensible"?
What language does "ostensible" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “ostensible”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish 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.