adverb
1. from appearances alone (Freq. 52)
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irrigation often produces bumper crops from apparently desert land
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the child is seemingly healthy but the doctor is concerned
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"had been ostensibly frank as to his purpose while really concealing it"-Thomas Hardy
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on the face of it the problem seems minor
• Syn: ↑seemingly, ↑ostensibly, ↑on the face of it
• Derived from adjective: ↑ostensible (for: ↑ostensibly), ↑seeming (for: ↑seemingly), ↑apparent
2. unmistakably (`plain' is often used informally for `plainly')
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the answer is obviously wrong
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she was in bed and evidently in great pain
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he was manifestly too important to leave off the guest list
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it is all patently nonsense
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she has apparently been living here for some time
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I thought he owned the property, but apparently not
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You are plainly wrong
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he is plain stubborn
• Derived from adjective: ↑plain (for: ↑plainly), ↑apparent, ↑patent (for: ↑patently), ↑manifest (for: ↑manifestly), ↑evident (for: ↑evidently), ↑obvious (for: ↑obviously)
• Usage Domain: ↑colloquialism
Useful english dictionary. 2012.