Meanings
nounostension (countable and uncountable, plural ostensions)
plural ostensions
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe act of presenting an ostensive definition.
And ostension is one perfectly familiar way of introducing a concept.
2008 November 22, Richard Fumerton, “Luminous enough for a cognitive home”, in Philosophical Studies, volume 142, number 1, →DOI - countableuncountablehuman communicationAn act of showing or demonstrating.
- countableuncountableChristianityThe showing of the sacrament on the altar in order that it may receive the adoration of the communicants.
- countableuncountableReal-life events that parallel well-known events from myth and folklore
Origin
- Latinostensiō, ostensiōnem
- Middle Frenchostension
- Englishostension
Borrowed from Middle French ostension, in turn from Latin ostensiō, ostensiōnem.
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
ostension. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ostension
MLA
“ostension.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ostension. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ostension,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ostension.
Source: ostension on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.