appear
Americanverb (used without object)
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appears,
present (3rd person singular)
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appeared,
past participle, past
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appearing
present participle
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to come into sight; become visible.
A man suddenly appeared in the doorway.
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to have the appearance of being; seem; look.
to appear wise.
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to be obvious or easily perceived; be clear or made clear by evidence.
It appears to me that you are right.
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to come or be placed before the public; be published.
Her biography appeared last year.
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to perform publicly, as in a play, dance, etc..
He appeared as the king in the play.
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to attend or be present, especially to arrive late or stay but a short time.
He appeared at the party but left quickly.
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to come into being; be created, invented, or developed.
Speech appears in the child's first or second year.
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Law. to come formally, especially as a party or counsel, to a proceeding before a tribunal, authority, etc.
verb
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to come into sight or view
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(copula; may take an infinitive) to seem or look
the evidence appears to support you
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to be plain or clear, as after further evidence, etc
it appears you were correct after all
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to develop or come into being; occur
faults appeared during testing
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to become publicly available; be published
his biography appeared last month
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to perform or act
he has appeared in many London productions
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to be present in court before a magistrate or judge
he appeared on two charges of theft
Synonym Usage
See seem.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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appearsimple
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appearssimple
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have appearedperfect
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has appearedperfect
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am appearingprogressive
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are appearingprogressive
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is appearingprogressive
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have been appearingperfect progressive
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has been appearingperfect progressive
Past
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appearedsimple
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had appearedperfect
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was appearingprogressive
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were appearingprogressive
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had been appearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of appear
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”
Explanation
If something appears, it comes into view. Rub a magic lamp and a genie will appear. If that's the case, she will grant you three wishes. Appear comes from the Latin apparere meaning "to appear, come in sight, make an appearance." Whether literally materializing or seeming to be true, the word appear is used to describe something coming into sight or presenting itself. The word can also be used to describe an actor appearing in a play. Julie Andrews appeared in the musical "Victor Victoria." When someone looks happy, he appears to be happy. When a detail seems true, it appears to be true.
Vocabulary lists containing appear
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Ceremony
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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:
On paper, veterans often appear financially secure, outperforming civilians on key long-term benchmarks.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026
If those individuals are already experiencing more advanced illness, they may face a greater risk of death, making higher body weight appear beneficial by comparison.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2026
He denied the accusations, but did not appear in court to defend himself.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
“At a high level, spreads appear to be inconsistent with the large market caps in the equity market,” Patel said, pointing to hyperscalers’ size.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
There could be something useful in how the soldiers appear, she thinks.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Its central surface appears severely crushed and distorted, yet much of the outer rim and the small grooves along its edge remain relatively intact.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2026
But support also appears to be faltering on the right.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026
Given California’s volatile budget, which is expected to be particularly problematic next year, it appears unlikely that state lawmakers will find a way to backfill an estimated $100 billion of federal healthcare funding cuts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026
“Some market volatility following the midterms appears to be subsiding, and the AI sentiment seems to be tentatively stabilizing after last week’s sharp setback.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
“Time for presents,” I announce lamely just as Ana’s mom appears on the stairs, her arms folded.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
In Scotland, the term "Scottish Asian" appeared in the broad categories, whilst "Black Scottish" was given as an example response for the text box.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026
Researchers have not yet determined why the connection between stimulant products and reported heart problems appeared so frequently in this age group.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2026
He’s more likely to be met with silence than a “no,” and occasionally music he’s requested has appeared online without any acknowledgment of his emails.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson picked up on that answer in a back-and-forth with Department of Justice attorney Vivek Suri, who appeared as amicus supporting the prison nurse.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2026
Dots appeared and disappeared for several minutes, and I felt a little guilty for putting him on the spot.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Many residents also are worried, Navarro said, about the squads of ICE agents that have been appearing in the community to detain people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Now the cheese is being used as a spread and appearing in recipes for everything from scrambled eggs to ice cream.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2026
However, there are signs the term is starting to break beyond pitting people against one another to be used to simply mean someone is appearing commanding.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
A central concept is entropy, which describes how many different microscopic arrangements a system can have while appearing unchanged from the outside.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026
The lake quickly became hidden behind trees, only occasionally appearing when she climbed over a boulder.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
