emerge

American  

[ih-murj] / ɪˈmɜrdʒ /

verb (used without object)

• emerges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• emerged,
  past participle,  past
• emerging
  present participle

1. to come forth into view or notice, as from concealment or obscurity.

   a ghost emerging from the grave;

   a ship emerging from the fog.

2. to rise or come forth from or as if from water or other liquid.

3. to come up or arise, as a question or difficulty.

4. to come into existence; develop.

5. to rise, as from an inferior or unfortunate state or condition.

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emerge British  

/ ɪˈmɜːdʒ /

verb

1. to come up to the surface of or rise from water or other liquid

2. to come into view, as from concealment or obscurity

   he emerged from the cave

3. (foll by from) to come out (of) or live (through a difficult experience)

   he emerged from his ordeal with dignity

4. to become apparent

   several interesting things emerged from the report

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Usage

What are other ways to say emerge? To emerge is to come forth into view or notice, as from concealment or obscurity. How is emerge different from emanate and issue? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reemerge
  verb (used without object)
• emerging
  adjective
• unemerged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• emerging
  present
• emerged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• emerge
  simple
• emerges
  simple
• have emerged
  perfect
• has emerged
  perfect
• am emerging
  progressive
• are emerging
  progressive
• is emerging
  progressive
• have been emerging
  perfect progressive
• has been emerging
  perfect progressive

Past

• emerged
  simple
• had emerged
  perfect
• was emerging
  progressive
• were emerging
  progressive
• had been emerging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will emerge
  simple
• will have emerged
  perfect
• will be emerging
  progressive
• will have been emerging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of emerge

First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin ēmergere “to arise out of,” equivalent to ē- e- ¹ + mergere “to dive, sink”

Explanation

To emerge means to come out into view or come forth. You might hope to emerge from an epic perming session looking like a beauty queen, but chances are it will just look like you got electrocuted. From the Latin emergere, meaning to “rise out or up, bring forth, bring to light,” emerge is an intransitive verb that might bring to mind the image of a whale rising up from the depths of the sea, or of a person popping out from a dark corner to spook you. Appear and peep are synonyms, while dip and sink are antonyms.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

emerge emerges emerged emerging

Their goal is to push observations closer to the time when the universe's first generations of stars and galaxies began to emerge.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

The annual red crab migration, when millions of the crustaceans emerge from the forest and scramble to the ocean, is one focal point.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Abdullah Shafique: The only Pakistan batter to reach fifty or emerge with any crumb of credit after 61 in the first innings.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Now, late in this hot August afternoon, dogs of every size race through underground tunnels and emerge from the other side even more manically happy than when they entered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Performers leaving the back end of the big top disappear into dressing tents and emerge in street clothes.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

A steady buzz is growing around China as advanced robotics emerges as the next frontier of the global AI boom, encompassing both investor enthusiasm and alarm from rivals such as the United States.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

The union is expected to be certified after a 30-day waiting period, as long as no other qualifying organization emerges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Nero’s bridge emerges from Tiber amid Rome drought.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

The president, played by Jeff Daniels, emerges as focused, canny, charming and witty in this fond portrayal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Dawg, you cryin’?” Manny says when he finally emerges from his room smelling like he bathed in Armani Code.

From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone

Yabloko was founded in the early 1990s during Russia’s short-lived experiment with real democracy, when a rambunctious form of politics emerged and dozens of fledgling parties contested power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Amid today’s U.S. housing crisis, the Midwest has repeatedly emerged as an attractive, cheap option for aspiring home buyers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

Details of the proposed agreement emerged this week after Prime Minister Mark Carney briefed the leaders of Canada's provinces and territories.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

More than a decade after scam rap emerged from the buzzier, grimier corners of Detroit hip-hop, a scammer anthem from a South Floridian is arguably the song of the summer.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

Once the dogs were gone, the two emerged out of the small opening.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

And for investors who are worried about an AI bubble, European stocks are a better hedge than emerging markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

There is less consensus on whether climate change itself triggers stronger El Ninos, though evidence for this is emerging.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

In emerging quantum technologies, questions like this bring together two branches of physics that were developed for very different purposes.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

As the water level at Lake Mead has plunged to a historic low, more human remains are emerging from the depths of the nation’s largest reservoir.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Without some facial surgery, I might play the perfect game of hide-and-seek—never emerging to make friends.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

Related Words

• appear
• arrive
• come up
• crop up
• develop
• loom
• materialize
• rise
• show
• surface
• turn up