ostensible

[ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le]

/[ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le]/ adj

The verdict

“ostensible” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #70,500 among 1,467 “O” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,500
frequency rank, Spanish
1,467
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Que está a la vista, que se puede comprender, ver o percibir sin mayor dificultad o esfuerzo por ser deliberado, aparente o notorio.

Corpus desk

Index ES-ostensible · ostensible · Spanish

ostensible · rank #70,500 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,500
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,467
  • PHOTO-FINISH osas

Nearest frequency peer: osas (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangos de cola larga cerca de “ostensible”

Banda escasa: las barras invierten el rango para que lo raro se lea más corto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista de cola larga: dónde “ostensible” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ostensible
PropertyValue
Headwordostensible
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le]
Letters10
Frequency rank#70,500
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “ostensible” en español

Esta escala corre desde el núcleo del español cotidiano (izquierda) hasta el rastro de formas rara vez usadas (derecha).ostensiblecae en esta cola de rareza:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Los ticks avanzan en logaritmo; cada uno es del orden de diez veces más raro. Vecinos raros de la misma franja: “osas” (#70,499), “ostentado” (#70,501), “orinando” (#70,498). Entre 1,467 lemas con “O”, “ostensible” va en #70,500. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ostensible is uncommon Spanish at frequency #70,500 among 1,467 “O” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

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

  1. 1
    Que está a la vista, que se puede comprender, ver o percibir sin mayor dificultad o esfuerzo por ser deliberado, aparente o notorio.
  2. 2
    Que se puede mostrar, manifestar, exhibir, poner ante la vista o la percepción.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ostensible appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Silvia mueve la cabeza de un modo muy ostensible en sentido afirmativo.
  2. El crecimiento de la masa corporal libre de grasa y de la grasa, se observa una diferencia ostensible entre ambos sexos.

Synonyms

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"?
"ostensible" is spelled O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le].
What does "ostensible" mean?
As an adjective, "ostensible" means: Que está a la vista, que se puede comprender, ver o percibir sin mayor dificultad o esfuerzo por ser deliberado, aparente o notorio.
How do you pronounce "ostensible"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ostensible" is [ost̪ẽnˈsiβ̞le]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ostensible" come from?
"ostensible" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ostensible", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list