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
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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:
If you do not address your feelings and process them, they will manifest themselves in other ways — an unkind remark or a silent fury.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Nieuwenhuijsen decided to revisit the ship manifest that proved that Beata and her family had returned to the Netherlands from Berbice after her husband died in 1773.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
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
The ferry's manifest listed 134 passengers and crew.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
He could not, he explained, “without manifest impropriety, make the avowal or disavowal you seem to think necessary.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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
This broader, decentralized spirit manifests visibly across the country.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
However it manifests, this sexual fluidity marks something of a “Bi Renaissance,” as Gay Times magazine recently called it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
In developed economies, this mainly manifests as canceled travel plans, he said in emailed commentary.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
“Well, he manifests himself as an absence; as though he weren’t there at all.”
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
The early and rapid adoption of Muse that has manifested in recent days is also igniting fears that AI will disrupt certain industries, including financial services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
In a city that had manifested an entire industry out of rewriting stories, I wondered whether the secret was simply to write a new one for myself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
His mental health struggles "really manifested in an obvious way" at Cambridge and he struggled to get through university.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Players are starting to mildly rebel: announcing they want fewer events, and more money at the events they do play, but it hasn’t manifested in any significant change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
To Buck’s surprise these dogs manifested no jealousy toward him.
From "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London
Then we tumble into the realm of inspirational gurus and thought leaders, where breathwork and manifesting meet motivational speak, popping with familiar verbal kernels like “sparking joy” and “habit formation.”
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Her brother might feel the same way, but his sadness and sentimentality may be manifesting in a different way.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
On others, handwritten spells manifesting joy or health dance across the white surface.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
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
Dimple looked at Rishi’s sketches, her excitement tempered by the nerves that had begun manifesting themselves every time she looked at him after that night.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
