appear

[ uh-peer ]

verb (used without object)

1. to come into sight; become visible:

   A man suddenly appeared in the doorway.

   Synonyms: arise, emerge

2. to have the appearance of being; seem; look:

   to appear wise.

3. to be obvious or easily perceived; be clear or made clear by evidence:

   It appears to me that you are right.

4. to come or be placed before the public; be published:

   Her biography appeared last year.

5. to perform publicly, as in a play, dance, etc.:

   He appeared as the king in the play.

6. to attend or be present, especially to arrive late or stay but a short time:

   He appeared at the party but left quickly.

7. to come into being; be created, invented, or developed:

   Speech appears in the child's first or second year.

8. Law. to come formally, especially as a party or counsel, to a proceeding before a tribunal, authority, etc.

appear

/ əˈpɪə /

verb

1. to come into sight or view
2. copula; may take an infinitive to seem or look

   the evidence appears to support you

3. to be plain or clear, as after further evidence, etc

   it appears you were correct after all

4. to develop or come into being; occur

   faults appeared during testing

5. to become publicly available; be published

   his biography appeared last month

6. to perform or act

   he has appeared in many London productions

7. to be present in court before a magistrate or judge

   he appeared on two charges of theft

Other Words From

• reap·pear verb (used without object)
• well-ap·pearing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of appear¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ap(p)eren, from Anglo-French, Old French aper-, tonic stem of apare(i)r, apparoir, from Latin appārēre “to be seen, appear,” equivalent to ap- ap- ¹( def ) + pārēre “to be visible”

Word History and Origins

Origin of appear¹

C13: from Old French aparoir, from Latin appārēre to become visible, attend upon, from pārēre to appear

Synonym Study

See seem.

Example Sentences

“Based on information, surveillance footage reviewed and information shared with us, these are the facts known to my mother and I: It does not appear that Hannah intentionally missed her flight,” Sydni Kobayashi wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

She appeared at an event at the University of London in November, where she was presented with an honorary doctorate of literature by Princess Anne.

From BBC

Already, an estimated 50% of all new articles worldwide appear open access.

From Science Magazine

But its jihadist ideology appeared to be its driving force rather than revolutionary zeal - and it was seen at the time as at odds with the main rebel coalition known as the Free Syrian Army.

From BBC

John, 77, appeared onstage after a charity performance of the musical “The Devil Wears Prada,” for which he wrote the score, at the Dominion Theatre.

From New York Times

Related Words

• arrive
• come
• come out
• crop up
• develop
• emerge
• materialize
• occur
• pop up
• present
• show
• show up
• surface
• turn out
• turn up