os·ten·si·ble

Autumn -
October 24, 2012
Defining Moments

 [o-sten-suh-buhl]  Show IPA

adjective

1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.
2. apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories.
 

Ostensibly, you are going to be rich!

 
This one seems to throw people a lot. When something is apparent but not actual. The idea that we will accept what we are told rather than the evidence of our senses is both disturbing, and all too clearly the case.
 
Motives both political and personal are often mingled in a way that makes them more palatable, if less precise. 
 
“Ostensibly, she wanted to move to a better school district, but really she just hated her landlord.”
 
“He claimed to be in support of women’s reproductive rights. His ostensible commitment to the cause seems undermined by the huge kickback he received from Trojan.”
 
Ostensibly, I’d have better examples…
 
 
 
 
#Defining Moments

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