emerge
Americanverb (used without object)
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emerges,
present (3rd person singular)
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emerged,
past participle, past
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emerging
present participle
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to come forth into view or notice, as from concealment or obscurity.
a ghost emerging from the grave;
a ship emerging from the fog.
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to rise or come forth from or as if from water or other liquid.
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to come up or arise, as a question or difficulty.
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to come into existence; develop.
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to rise, as from an inferior or unfortunate state or condition.
verb
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to come up to the surface of or rise from water or other liquid
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to come into view, as from concealment or obscurity
he emerged from the cave
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(foll by from) to come out (of) or live (through a difficult experience)
he emerged from his ordeal with dignity
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to become apparent
several interesting things emerged from the report
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
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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emergesimple
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emergessimple
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have emergedperfect
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has emergedperfect
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am emergingprogressive
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are emergingprogressive
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is emergingprogressive
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have been emergingperfect progressive
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has been emergingperfect progressive
Past
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emergedsimple
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had emergedperfect
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was emergingprogressive
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were emergingprogressive
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had been emergingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing emerge
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The Vernal Vocabulary of Spring
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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:
Symptoms may first emerge during infancy, childhood, or adulthood, and their severity and progression can differ depending on when the condition begins.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Coconut crabs, also known as Robber crabs, emerge at night to hunt for small mammals and seabirds, and will force the search crew to spend nights on their ship for their own safety.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
A deal could come together soon, the people said, assuming talks don’t fall apart or another suitor doesn’t emerge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
While the economic impact of AI has yet to fully emerge, Musk has already surpassed the richest Americans in history in terms of his relative share of gross domestic output.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
Nothing about Mendel’s early years suggested even the faintest glimmer of the revolutionary scientist who would later emerge.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The distinction could help researchers better understand how consciousness emerges.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
As the "wicker husband", he emerges as a strapping, dashing life-size piece of furniture.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Between Jordan’s charm and Misty’s smile that only emerges around him, the film flirts with becoming a romantic comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The detectors can also be ineffective as a new crop of AI "humanizing" tools emerges that rewrite AI-generated text to make it appear more human-like, researchers warn.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
I watch as James emerges from sleep, emerges from a day away from his old body.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
Guitarrica’s fortuitous relationship with music emerged from the time he spent during his formative years in his grandparents’ Spanish village of less than 100 people, Las Cuevas de Cañart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Infantino will stand for re-election as Fifa president for a third time in March, and as yet no credible candidate has emerged to challenge the Swiss-Italian.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Education authorities in Vienna said that "on the basis of the discussions held so far, the impression has emerged that the girls wish to wear the headscarf of their own accord".
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Another unexpected finding emerged when the researchers compared the two groups.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Heads hanging in defeat, the two boys, Penelope, and Simon emerged from their hiding places, covered with hay and feathers.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Although this is still an emerging area of research, evidence suggests these compounds have small-to-moderate effects on reducing soreness after workouts, and may also help restore muscular strength and power.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
They should train on the most up-to-date tactics from the modern battlefield and must understand both the potential and limitations of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
She warned that higher benchmark yields in advanced economies could also spill over to emerging markets by tightening global financial conditions.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
AI-enabled tools to see disease coming and stop it are emerging.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
But beneath the dry scruff, spring is emerging.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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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.
