appear

[ uh-peer ]

/ əˈpɪər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR appear ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

arose, came

Nearby words

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 FOR appear

1. emerge, arise. 2. See seem.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR appear ON THESAURUS.COM

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

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
She appeared to hesitate over her answer, and he could feel her tumultuous breathing.
Bob Hampton of Placer|Randall Parrish
It was especially because Vaudrey appeared to be so happy, that his young wife was so contented.
His Excellency the Minister|Jules Claretie
The capital of the kingdom of Lilliput appeared to be partially surrounded by a vast and melancholy campagna of turnips.
The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6|E. Rameur
The intelligent Yankee soon bethought him of a scheme; and one that appeared feasible.
The Bandolero|Mayne Reid
As he spoke the light disappeared, and a fresh one appeared from astern.
The Black Bar|George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for appeared

appear

/ (əˈpɪə) /

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.

appear

verb (used without object)

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of appear

Examples from the Web for appeared

appear

verb (intr)

Word Origin for appear

appear