Ostensible

 WORD OF THE DAY

ostensible / adjective / ah-STEN-suh-bul

Definition
1a: intended for display
1b: open to view
2a: being such in appearance
2b: plausible rather than demonstrably true or real

Examples
"The Globetrotters … have acquired a loyal following thanks to family-friendly events in which players show off such records-worthy skills and interact with fans while still managing to wallop their ostensible opponents."
— Peter Tonguette, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 22 Dec. 2021

It's a snarky, glory-thieving place, the world of big-bucks political fund raising. Ostensible grownups can be reduced to screaming toddlers over who gets the credit for bringing in a major donor's gift …
— Viveca Novak, Time, 14 June 1999

Did You Know?
Ostensible comes from Latin ostendere, meaning "to show," and the word suggests a discrepancy between a declared or implied aim or reason and the true one.