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apparent

[ uh-pair-uhnt, uh-par- ]
/ əˈpɛər ənt, əˈpær- /
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See synonyms for: apparent / apparently on Thesaurus.com

adjective
readily seen; exposed to sight; open to view; visible: The crack in the wall was readily apparent.
capable of being easily perceived or understood; plain or clear; obvious: The solution to the problem was apparent to all.
according to appearances, initial evidence, incomplete results, etc.; ostensible rather than actual: He was the apparent winner of the election.
entitled to a right of inheritance by birth, indefeasible except by one's death before that of the ancestor, to an inherited throne, title, or other estate.Compare heir apparent, heir presumptive.
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Origin of apparent

1350–1400; <Latin appārent- (stem of appārēns appearing; see appear, -ent); replacing Middle English aparant<Middle French

synonym study for apparent

2. Apparent, evident, obvious, patent all refer to something easily perceived. Apparent applies to that which can readily be seen or perceived: an apparent effort. Evident applies to that which facts or circumstances make plain: His innocence was evident. Obvious applies to that which is unquestionable, because of being completely manifest or noticeable: an obvious change of method. Patent, a more formal word, applies to that which is open to view or understanding by all: a patent error.

OTHER WORDS FROM apparent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

MORE ABOUT APPARENT

What does apparent mean?

Apparent means clear, obvious, or easily observed.

It’s also commonly used in a way that means based on the appearance of things, as opposed to what is definitely true. Something described as apparent in this way has not been confirmed or proven, and the word is often used in this way in journalism, as in The video shows the suspect in an apparent altercation with the store clerk. 

The adverb form of apparent is apparently, which is most often used to refer to things that appear a certain way but may not actually be so.

Example: He hasn’t said so, but he’s made it very apparent that he wants to take a vacation—the other day he put on a video of ocean waves and sat in front of it in a beach chair.

Where does apparent come from?

The first records of apparent come from the second half of the 1300s. It comes from the Latin appārēns, meaning “appearing.”

When we describe something as apparent, we mean it can be obviously seen or observed. This is often literal, as in The leak was apparent from the water damage on the ceiling. Apparent is also often used to refer to things that are simply obvious, whether you can literally see them or not. When you’re presented with more and more evidence of something, it becomes increasingly apparent. When we say that something has happened or someone has done something for no apparent reason, we mean it has happened or been done for no reason that’s obvious or that we can observe—often this implies it has been done for no reason at all.

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What are some other forms related to apparent?

  • apparently (adverb)
  • apparentness (noun)
  • nonapparent (adjective)
  • nonapparently (adverb)

What are some synonyms for apparent?

What are some words that share a root or word element with apparent

What are some words that often get used in discussing apparent?

How is apparent used in real life?

Apparent is a very common word that can be used in all kinds of contexts dealing with things that are obvious or that have been observed.

 

 

Try using apparent!

Which of the following terms is NOT a synonym of apparent?

A. evident
B. unclear
C. obvious
D. observable

How to use apparent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for apparent

apparent
/ (əˈpærənt, əˈpɛər-) /

adjective
readily seen or understood; evident; obvious
(usually prenominal) seeming, as opposed to realhis apparent innocence belied his complicity in the crime
physics as observed but ignoring such factors as the motion of the observer, changes in the environment, etcCompare true (def. 9)

Derived forms of apparent

apparentness, noun

Word Origin for apparent

C14: from Latin appārēns, from appārēre to appear
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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