appear
[uh-peer]
- 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.
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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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for appear on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for appeared
Contemporary Examples
He appeared to understand however belatedly that he was in the presence of another kind of greatness.
That quote has been misattributed to him since it first appeared in 1881, when Ben would have been 175 years old.
And that was well before this Christmas, when he appeared to joke about Obama being a Muslim.
Someone recently sent me an old Joan Didion essay on self-respect that appeared in Vogue.
A drawing of three skulls along with a message in English appeared on computer screens at the targeted firms.
Historical Examples
She had observed that Geta and Milza appeared much confused when she spoke to them.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
On the contrary, indeed, he appeared to joy immensely in Percival's way of life.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
She had never known the surname, and on two of the cards "Ph." appeared.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
And he appeared so well in the victoria when they drove in the park.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
From his dress, and the commands he appeared to be issuing, Robert judged that it was the mate.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
appear
- 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
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Word Origin
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
v.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper