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

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1. emerge, arise. 2. See seem.

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

Related Words for appeared

arose, came

Examples from the Web for appeared

Contemporary Examples of appeared

He appeared to understand however belatedly that he was in the presence of another kind of greatness.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown
Michael Daly
January 7, 2015
That quote has been misattributed to him since it first appeared in 1881, when Ben would have been 175 years old.
Forget the Resolutions; Try a Few Declarations
Kevin Bleyer
January 1, 2015
And that was well before this Christmas, when he appeared to joke about Obama being a Muslim.
How James Woods Became Obama’s Biggest Twitter Troll
Asawin Suebsaeng
December 31, 2014
Someone recently sent me an old Joan Didion essay on self-respect that appeared in Vogue.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination
Mindy Farabee
December 26, 2014
A drawing of three skulls along with a message in English appeared on computer screens at the targeted firms.
Inside the ‘Surprisingly Great’ North Korean Hacker Hotel
Michael Daly
December 20, 2014

Historical Examples of appeared

She had observed that Geta and Milza appeared much confused when she spoke to them.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
On the contrary, indeed, he appeared to joy immensely in Percival's way of life.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
She had never known the surname, and on two of the cards "Ph." appeared.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
And he appeared so well in the victoria when they drove in the park.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
From his dress, and the commands he appeared to be issuing, Robert judged that it was the mate.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger

British Dictionary definitions for appeared

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 appeared

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.