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scheinbar

apparent

adjective SHYN-bar Less Common

Also means

seemingly

Usage Note

scheinbar strictly implies a false appearance ('only seemingly'), and Germans carefully contrast it with anscheinend ('apparently, probably true'). From scheinen ('to seem, to shine'), it warns that what looks true may not be.

Examples

"Sie war scheinbar ganz ruhig."

Natural Translation

She was seemingly quite calm.

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