I'm looking for an adverb that specifies that a negative quality appears not to be present but actually is, for any reason. I can't describe it well so this would be better served by examples. I'd like to be able to fill in the blank in all of the following contexts:
The researcher's methods appeared to be sound, but when examined closely, they were not. (Cause: an honest mistake)
→ The researcher's methods were _____ly unsound.
The politician's statements appeared to be truthful, but when we dug deeper, we found that they were lies. (Cause: intentional deception)
→ The politician's statements were _____ly dishonest.
The user manual appeared to be complete, but when I actually read it, it turned out to be useless. (Cause: writer did not understand consumer needs)
→ The user manual was _____ly useless.
The paint job on the house appeared to be done correctly, but began peeling within a week. (Cause: lack of skill by painter, lack of knowledge by observer)
→ The paint job on the house was of _____ly low quality.
In essence, I'm looking for an adverb that signifies that on the surface / at a glance something appears not to be X, but "when you get right down to it", it actually is. However, this adverb must...
- ... not carry any implications about the underlying reason. It can have a negative connotation (as in, criticism, or showing disappointment on the part of the speaker), but must be neutral in its implications. For example, it can't imply intentional deception vs. an honest mistake vs. a simple lack of skill as the cause.
- ... be applicable to the quality that something really has, not the quality it appeared to have. That is, it describes something that "appeared to be opposite-of-X but actually was X" rather than something that "appeared to be X but actually was opposite-of-X", where X is the word it modifies.
In particular, the word I'm looking for should stress the fact that something appears to not be X on the surface.
Does such a word exist? I hope I explained this clearly.