Which should you use, ostensible or ostentatious? The adjective ostentatious means showy. The adjective ostensible means represented as such or seeming.
| Incorrect: |
France passed a law in March 2004, banning any ostensible display of a religious symbol in school.
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| Correct: |
France passed a law in March 2004, banning any ostentatious display of a religious symbol in school.
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| Incorrect: |
That was the ostentatious reason for the conflict.
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| Correct: |
That was the ostensible reason for the conflict.
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