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

After an hour-long search, documents did emerge from beneath the silt -- but they belonged to a neighbour and were duly returned.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

The University of Liège study adds another piece to that research by suggesting that the relationship between sleep and Alzheimer's risk may begin well before recognizable symptoms emerge.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026

It was hard to imagine how anyone could emerge from his shadow without having their leadership compared to the talismanic all-rounder.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Sure, a new crop of AI-chip customers could emerge, aided by financial backstops Nvidia has started providing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

I turned around, as Yakov had done—I knew it, I felt it—but Frankie was the only person to emerge from the underbrush.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

A real screenwriter and director emerges with his feature debut, a Cannes knockout coming from A24.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

But that version of Bayoumi is at odds with the man who emerges from other videos.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

But if you dig a little deeper on the enterprise IT spending side, a more mixed picture emerges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

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

Boy21 emerges from his grandfather’s Cadillac looking very much like an Earthling.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

About 10 days after the attack, doctors reduced her sedation and she emerged from her coma.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

GPS navigation, lasers, and modern electronics all emerged from advances rooted in theoretical quantum physics and Einstein's theory of gravity.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

Just after sundown, the Marías’ enigmatic leading lady, María Zardoya, emerged to perform songs from her nocturne solo project, Not for Radio.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

But as more time has passed and more states have adopted bans, a clearer picture has emerged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Each time Jonathan’s head emerged from the river, he choked.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

For many households, parental obligations are a key driver behind this choice, with the “time versus money” trade-off emerging during the years when income growth and retirement savings are set to accelerate.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

But Hejazi says its use in drinks and desserts is still "an emerging trend" and hasn't yet hit the mainstream in the UK.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Executives say they are counting on emerging categories to make up for some of that slowdown.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

“The passage of Senate Bill 1159 is an important step to clarify the law and discourage the use of emerging technologies to falsify public records and mislead regulators in California,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

We also added celebrations of dance and other arts to the mix, bringing in emerging artists to showcase new work.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

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