Ostensible

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɒˈstɛns.ɪ.bəl/

Definitions

1. Appearing or claiming to be one thing when actually being something different or when the reality is uncertain
2. Seemingly true or genuine at first glance, yet potentially masking a hidden or contrasting reality
3. Appearing to be one way externally while possibly concealing different motives or truths beneath the surface

Etymology: "Ostensible" comes to English from French, where it was formed with the suffix "-ible" from the Latin "ostensus," the past participle of "ostendere," meaning "to show." That verb was itself built from "obs-," meaning "in front of," and "tendere," meaning "to stretch." The image behind it is of something stretched out before the eye so that it can be seen, which explains why the word is so closely related to "ostentatious," a relative that shares the same Latin root and the sense of making something display. The word's meaning has a useful tension built into it. Its core sense is of something displayed to view, and from that it came to describe what is shown or put forward as the reason or appearance of a thing, whether or not that appearance is accurate. A "reason" can be ostensible in this way: it is the one offered in public, which may differ from the real motive. The word thus carries the outward face of a matter, and it leaves open whether that face is true underneath.

Synonyms: apparent, seeming, supposed, professed, alleged

Antonyms: actual, real, genuine, truthful, authentic