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
Workshop 1, Part 1
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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:
Longtime mascots, on the other hand, appear to retain their built-up value even after a lull.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for reelection, will appear with González and Durazo at an event Wednesday to discuss the proposed laws.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Henderson, who would go on to appear in the Harry Potter and Bridget Jones franchises, was 20 and had just left drama school.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Chili’s newest chicken-sandwich offerings appear to be a winner as more sit-down restaurants try to directly compete with fast-food chains.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Neither they nor Katherine saw anyone else appear out of nowhere or disappear into thin air.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Their focus now appears to be on Barcelona's Ferran Torres, who scored the only goal for Spain against Argentina in the World Cup final.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Slaughter appears to be in the lead, with Awosika and Taylor behind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
However, the firm noted that Grok 4.6 appears to be cheaper than its rivals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
The same pattern appears in biomedical innovation: Female inventors are disproportionately likely to produce inventions related to women’s health.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
A flicker of the setting sun appears through the leaves of the trees behind us.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
That appeared to be reflected in SMIC’s wafer revenue from smartphones, which made up 25.2% of total quarterly revenue, up from 18.9% in the first quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Mello appeared as the snobby high school student Chandler in the 1999 romantic hit, which also featured Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
They appeared at a forum hosted by the news organization Politico and sponsored by Airbnb, AT&T, energy company California Resources Corp.,
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Understanding how life began addresses one of humanity's most fundamental questions: where we came from, where the first living systems appeared, and how Earth's earliest cells were able to survive.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
So whenever anyone appeared at the gate, Marlene would always wander over with Karli and accept their offerings only too willingly.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Remember, one of the acronyms for fear is “future experiences appearing real.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Szabo, appearing before the council, acknowledged that the city faces a financial risk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
It stirred online clashes and even led to small groups of protesters and counterprotesters appearing at Fever games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
And in each of the confederations cracks are already appearing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
The figure that blocks his path near the edge of the courtyard is transparent, appearing like a mirage in the glow of the bonfire and the gently swaying paper lanterns.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
