German word

scheinbar

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈʃaɪ̯nbaːɐ̯/

Meaning

  • adverbapparently

Example

Sie wirkt scheinbar glücklich.

She appears happy.

Illustration for scheinbar (apparently)

More examples

Auf den ersten Blick ist das Dokument scheinbar echt.

At first glance, the document seems genuine.

Core concept

A polished surface gives a convincing impression while the reality underneath may be different.

Common phrases

  • auf den ersten Blick scheinbar

    apparently at first glance

  • scheinbar kaputt

    seemingly broken

Similar words

anscheinend: Likely true according to what can be observed or learned.
offenbar: Shown to be true by clear circumstances or evidence.
angeblich: Said to be true by others, without confirmation that it is so.

Definition in German

auf den äußeren Eindruck bezogen so wirkend, dass das Erscheinungsbild möglichweise von der Wirklichkeit abweicht

Word origin

Scheinbar combines Schein ('appearance') with the suffix -bar ('-able') and continues Middle High German schīnbar in modern German.

Usage tips

  • In careful usage, scheinbar often signals a misleading appearance, whereas anscheinend usually presents an inference as probably true.

Opposites

Related words

  • der Anscheinsemblancenoun
  • scheinenappearverb

Word lists with this word