adverb.
According to what the speaker has read or been told.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
adverb.
from appearances alone
adverb.
unmistakably (`plain' is often used informally for `plainly')
Word Usage
"The PLA unit is popularly known as the Blue Army, a name apparently picked to distinguish it from the Communist Party's main fighting machine, nicknamed the Red Army."