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:
The Vermont team instead incorporated how often words appear in real communication, allowing patterns to emerge that might otherwise remain hidden.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
"I think it's fair to say there were some bumps in the road in the first couple of episodes," she says, "but they do appear to be very slowly relaxing into their new roles."
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
RBA Chief Economist Sarah Hunter and Deputy Gov. Andrew Hauser are scheduled to speak during the week, before senior officials appear before parliament Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Thirty-six of those locations appear to be in Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Skye is always on her phone, and sure enough, three gray dots appear next to her name.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
This distinction matters because a word that appears millions of times contributes much more to everyday communication than one that is rarely used.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
First, it appears you’re already aware of the first one — making sure you know the school’s cost of attendance and not spending any 529 money beyond that amount or else the expense won’t qualify.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
"It appears that Kim Jong Un has arrived in Dandong, China, via the New Yalu River Bridge," the unidentified government source said, without giving further details.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
So in many ways, with auto-enrolment into workplace pensions, the UK appears to be ahead of the game in insisting on universal privately funded pensions for workers.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Lily appears by my side, slipping her tiny fingers into mine.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Somehow, this protein appeared to influence the body's ability to use energy, store fat, and sustain physical activity.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
Miller and Ruffin never considered moving, except when it appeared they might not be able to afford to rebuild.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
Before this year, he had appeared in 10 playoff games for the Milwaukee Brewers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
This is how Patel's textiles empire appeared on his radar.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
On the third night, the last driver that appeared was a girl.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Nairobi is undergoing a rapid construction boom, with high-rise buildings appearing all over the city, particularly in Eastleigh which is known for its busy market areas and as a hub for the Somali community.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Still, Turturro chose Beckett, appearing alongside Tony Shalhoub and Christopher Lloyd, while “Mystery Men” went on to flop at the box office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
He added that “therefore there is electric price increase,” in appearing to mean that there would be no price increase.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
A camera was placed in the room and on 5 October, Alfozan was filmed entering and appearing to look behind the television where the audio recorder had been inserted.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
A vein in his neck bulged as he forced the words out, appearing and disappearing every few seconds, a great, struggling snake.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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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.
