manifest
Americanverb (used with object)
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manifests,
present (3rd person singular)
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manifested,
past participle, past
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manifesting
present participle
-
to make clear or evident; show plainly.
He manifested his approval with a hearty laugh.
- Antonyms:
- conceal
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to prove; put beyond doubt or question.
The evidence manifests the guilt of the defendant.
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to attempt to attain (something desired) by thinking or focusing intensely on it, especially as a spiritual or self-help practice.
I'm manifesting a new job this year.
We cut out toxic people and manifested new friends more on our wavelength.
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to record in the manifest of a ship, airplane, train, etc.
verb (used without object)
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manifests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
manifested,
past participle, past
-
manifesting
present participle
-
to appear or become apparent.
The change we've been agitating for is finally manifesting in public policy.
Damage to the house's foundation can manifest slowly over time.
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to be created; take form.
The course allows designers to visualize how their designs could manifest.
His book claims we are beings of light that have manifested in physical bodies.
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Medicine/Medical.
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(of a disease or injury) to become evident through the appearance of particular symptoms.
This type of infection typically manifests with rashes, swelling, and pain.
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(of a patient) to have a certain symptom or medical condition.
People who experience work-related stress often manifest with chronic digestive disorders.
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to attempt to attain something desired by thinking about or focusing intensely on it, especially as a spiritual or self-help practice.
The guru was trying to teach us how to manifest by using meditation and deep concentration.
adjective
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readily perceived; evident; obvious; apparent; plain.
The data you've shown us contains a manifest error.
- Synonyms:
- conspicuous, visible, palpable, open, patent, unmistakable, distinct, clear
- Antonyms:
- obscure
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Psychoanalysis. of or relating to conscious feelings, ideas, and impulses that contain repressed psychic material.
the manifest content of a dream as opposed to the latent content that it conceals.
noun
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manifests
plural
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a list of the cargo or goods carried by a ship, airplane, train, etc., made for the use of various agents and officials at the points of destination.
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a list of the passengers carried on a ship, airplane, train, etc.
adjective
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easily noticed or perceived; obvious; plain
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psychoanal of or relating to the ostensible elements of a dream Compare latent
manifest content
verb
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(tr) to show plainly; reveal or display
to manifest great emotion
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(tr) to prove beyond doubt
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(intr) (of a disembodied spirit) to appear in visible form
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(tr) to list in a ship's manifest
noun
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a customs document containing particulars of a ship, its cargo, and its destination
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a list of cargo, passengers, etc, on an aeroplane
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a list of railway trucks or their cargo
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a fast freight train carrying perishables
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Usage
What does manifest mean? Manifest describes something that is readily understood, obvious, or apparent upon viewing, as in Saying the sky is full of flying pigs is manifest nonsense. To manifest something is to prove beyond all doubt, as in Climate change is manifesting itself through the increase of superstorms. To manifest also means to display or show plainly, as in Clara’s embarrassment manifested itself on her face as a blush. A manifest is a list of cargo carried by a plane, ship, truck, or train. To manifest the cargo is to list it on a manifest. Example: He managed to manifest a smile despite being so uncomfortable.
Synonym Usage
See display.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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manifesternoun
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manifestnessnoun
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nonmanifestnessnoun
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premanifestverb
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remanifestverb (used with object)
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supermanifestverb (used with object)
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manifestableadjective
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nonmanifestadjective
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self-manifestadjective
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unmanifestadjective
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manifestlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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manifestsimple
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manifestssimple
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have manifestedperfect
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has manifestedperfect
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am manifestingprogressive
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are manifestingprogressive
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is manifestingprogressive
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have been manifestingperfect progressive
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has been manifestingperfect progressive
Past
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manifestedsimple
-
had manifestedperfect
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was manifestingprogressive
-
were manifestingprogressive
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had been manifestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of manifest
First recorded in 1350–1400; (adjective) Middle English manifest(e), from Latin manifestus, manufestus “detected in the act, evident, visible”; (verb) Middle English manifesten, from Middle French manifester, from Latin manifestāre, derivative of manifestus. See manus
Explanation
Choose the verb manifest when someone shows something for everyone to notice. You might manifest your dislike of school food by stirring it around into a big pile of slop on your tray. Coming from the Latin manifestus, "caught in the act," manifest can be used as an adjective or a noun as well as a verb. As an adjective, manifest is a formal way to say that something is apparent to the senses and is synonymous with evident, apparent, or clear. If you have strong feelings about something, they will be manifest on your face. A ship or plane's manifest is the list of cargo or passengers on a particular trip.
Vocabulary lists containing manifest
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Fahrenheit 451
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Earlier, authorities reported that 86 were still unaccounted for, but as of Friday morning, the figure stood at 84 – two passengers whose names were on the ship's manifest did not go onboard, authorities say.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Others argue that the concerns themselves are overblown, noting that intelligence doesn’t always manifest as a will to dominate.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
A desire to reveal something just beneath the visible surface is manifest throughout, from the chiaroscuro studies of marble elevator banks to empty stairwells that spiral out of sight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The documents reviewed by the Journal—air waybills, a cargo manifest, and emails between logistics companies—paint a picture of how the system in the Maldives works.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Their anger over it can manifest itself as unruliness.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Federal agents are using flight manifests to arrest travelers with lapsed visas, drawing objections over safety and protocol.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
I suspect that experience gave her a very strong civil libertarian instinct that manifests here as a deep skepticism towards state power to criminalize gun possession.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
“It can take a long time to track down a source, in part because cyclosporiasis manifests itself so differently in people.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
While Tourette syndrome has many complex symptoms, “I Swear” focuses largely on coprolalia, a symptom affecting approximately 10% of individuals with Tourette’s and manifests in the involuntary use of obscene language.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
The unfortunate reality we must face is that racism manifests itself not only in individual attitudes and stereotypes, but also in the basic structure of society.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
It first manifested as a column in a youth publication before the host eventually took it to YouTube in 2014.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
"There does seem to be an increase in the visibility of it. We're looking at organised crime that has manifested because nobody has put it away, nobody has forced it underground," says Glantz.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
Their failure to qualify for the World Cup in 2018 fractured a sense of hope manifested by the more naive, stone-washed-denim-clad days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Describe her leadership philosophy and how it manifested itself.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
Medieval plagues had manifested themselves in a similar way, in the form of many dead rats.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Instead of blanket-dismissing tech entrepreneurs or wholesale manifesting a god in the machine, Pope Leo has sought a careful, studied, moral middle ground: one that encourages technological progress but upholds human dignity above all.
From Slate ● May 28, 2026
"We're manifesting Sam Fender comes out with Olivia Dean," Joe said.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
We looked up, taking in Ross in all his Afro-permed glory, manifesting a leafy forest out of what had been a mountain’s dense shadow.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
The energy shock is manifesting in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
He said that maybe I had a calling for the religious life that was manifesting itself early on.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
