Word of the Day - 06/21/26
ostensible
/ɑ'stɛnsɪbəl/(adj.): represented or appearing as such
His ostensible reason for visiting was to offer condolences, but he was really there to assess the estate.
Word Origin
The word 'ostensible' originates from the Latin word ostensibilis, meaning "that can be shown or displayed". This in turn comes from the Latin verb ostendere, meaning "to show, display", which is formed from the prefix ob- (in front of, toward) and tendere (to stretch, extend). The suffix -ibilis is an adjectival suffix meaning "able to be".
Words with similar origins include 'ostentation' (making a showy display) and 'ostensive' (defining a term by pointing to a physical example), which also derive from Latin ostendere. Other words sharing the Latin root tendere include 'extend', 'intend', 'contend', 'distend', and 'pretend'.
As a reminder, here are all of the words from this week:
discalced obscurantism scintillating
ostensible
See if you can remember all of this week's words! Here is a sentence that includes all seven, followed by a version that simplifies them to help you remember:
Waving a sandal for emphasis, the discalced friar delivered a declamatory attack upon the king's obscurantism, arguing that the monarch's ostensible reason for seizing all kine in the realm—that the beasts had been scheming to steal his scintillating crown—was a transparent ruse to endue the court with fresh revenues.Waving a sandal for emphasis, the unshod friar delivered an impassioned attack upon the king's practice of obscuring the truth, arguing that the monarch's apparent reason for seizing all cows in the realm—that the beasts had been scheming to steal his sparkling crown—was a transparent ruse to endow the court with fresh revenues.