appear

[uh-peer]

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verb (used without object)

to come into sight; become visible: A man suddenly appeared in the doorway.

to have the appearance of being; seem; look: to appear wise.

to be obvious or easily perceived; be clear or made clear by evidence: It appears to me that you are right.

to come or be placed before the public; be published: Her biography appeared last year.

to perform publicly, as in a play, dance, etc.: He appeared as the king in the play.

to attend or be present, especially to arrive late or stay but a short time: He appeared at the party but left quickly.

to come into being; be created, invented, or developed: Speech appears in the child's first or second year.

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

Origin of appear

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

Related formsre·ap·pear, verb (used without object)well-ap·pear·ing, adjective

Synonyms for appear

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR appear ON THESAURUS.COM

1. emerge, arise. 2. See seem.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for appear

materialize, emerge, develop, show, surface, occur, arrive, come, present, perform, play, enter, loom, attend, recur, spring, expose, rise, arise, issue

Examples from the Web for appear

Contemporary Examples of appear

States were encouraged and allowed to lower standards to make it appear they were improving.
The ‘No Child’ Rewrite Threatens Your Kids’ Future
Jonah Edelman
January 3, 2015
I had the opportunity to appear on the popular Sons of Anarchy series in their final season.
Porn Stars on the Year in Porn: Drone Erotica, Belle Knox, and Wild Sex
Aurora Snow
December 27, 2014
But on Monday, when he was scheduled to appear in court, KSM was back in his detention site.
9/11 Mastermind Is Afraid of the Ladies
Tim Mak
December 16, 2014
They are true believers and appear to love working for the man.
Honey Boo Boo, Snake Oil, and Ebola: The Weird World of Young Living Essential Oils
Kent Sepkowitz
December 5, 2014
But she is, in her way, holding a mirror up to nature, and objects in this mirror may be closer than they appear.
Is Bigger Better for St. Vincent?
David Yaffe
December 4, 2014

Historical Examples of appear

They did not appear frightened, but he could not make anything out of them.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
She was trying to extort a promise that she should appear in its pages, which, as we all remember, she did.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Grievously disordered they appear to be, as Hannah tells me.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
We will not appear like fools in this matter, and as if we have no authority over our own daughter.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
The Arabs also appear to have held similar opinions as to the power of music.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various

British Dictionary definitions for appear

appear

verb (intr)

to come into sight or view

(copula; may take an infinitive) to seem or lookthe evidence appears to support you

to be plain or clear, as after further evidence, etcit appears you were correct after all

to develop or come into being; occurfaults appeared during testing

to become publicly available; be publishedhis biography appeared last month

to perform or acthe has appeared in many London productions

to be present in court before a magistrate or judgehe appeared on two charges of theft

Word Origin for appear

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

Word Origin and History for appear

late 13c., "to come into view," from stem of Old French aparoir (12c., Modern French apparoir) "appear, come to light, come forth," from Latin apparere "to appear, come in sight, make an appearance," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + parere "to come forth, be visible," from PIE root *per- "to bring forth" (see pare). Of persons, "present oneself," late 14c. Meaning "seem, have a certain appearance" is late 14c. Related: Appeared; appearing.