mid 18th cent.: from French, from medieval Latin ostensibilisfrom Latin ostens-stretched out to view, from the verb ostendere, from ob-in view of + tendereto stretch
英英释义网络释义
noun
1.appearing as such but not necessarily so;
for all his apparent wealth he had no money to pay the rent
2.represented or appearing as such; pretended;
His ostensible purpose was charity, his real goal popularity