manifest

American  

[man-uh-fest] / ˈmæn əˌfɛst /

verb (used with object)

manifests, present (3rd person singular) manifested, past participle, past manifesting present participle

1. to make clear or evident; show plainly.

   He manifested his approval with a hearty laugh.

   Synonyms:

   express, declare, demonstrate, evidence, evince, disclose, reveal

   Antonyms:

   conceal

2. to prove; put beyond doubt or question.

   The evidence manifests the guilt of the defendant.

3. to attempt to attain (something desired) by thinking or focusing intensely on it, especially as a spiritual or self-help practice.

   I'm manifesting a new job this year.

   We cut out toxic people and manifested new friends more on our wavelength.

4. to record in the manifest of a ship, airplane, train, etc.

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verb (used without object)

manifests, present (3rd person singular) manifested, past participle, past manifesting present participle

1. to appear or become apparent.

   The change we've been agitating for is finally manifesting in public policy.

   Damage to the house's foundation can manifest slowly over time.

2. to be created; take form.

   The course allows designers to visualize how their designs could manifest.

   His book claims we are beings of light that have manifested in physical bodies.

3. Medicine/Medical.

   1. (of a disease or injury) to become evident through the appearance of particular symptoms.

      This type of infection typically manifests with rashes, swelling, and pain.

   2. (of a patient) to have a certain symptom or medical condition.

      People who experience work-related stress often manifest with chronic digestive disorders.

4. to attempt to attain something desired by thinking about or focusing intensely on it, especially as a spiritual or self-help practice.

   The guru was trying to teach us how to manifest by using meditation and deep concentration.

adjective

1. readily perceived; evident; obvious; apparent; plain.

   The data you've shown us contains a manifest error.

   Synonyms:

   conspicuous, visible, palpable, open, patent, unmistakable, distinct, clear

   Antonyms:

   obscure

2. Psychoanalysis. of or relating to conscious feelings, ideas, and impulses that contain repressed psychic material.

   the manifest content of a dream as opposed to the latent content that it conceals.

noun

manifests plural

1. a list of the cargo or goods carried by a ship, airplane, train, etc., made for the use of various agents and officials at the points of destination.

2. a list of the passengers carried on a ship, airplane, train, etc.

manifest British  

/ ˈmænɪˌfɛst /

adjective

1. easily noticed or perceived; obvious; plain

2. psychoanal of or relating to the ostensible elements of a dream Compare latent

   manifest content

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verb

1. (tr) to show plainly; reveal or display

   to manifest great emotion

2. (tr) to prove beyond doubt

3. (intr) (of a disembodied spirit) to appear in visible form

4. (tr) to list in a ship's manifest

noun

1. a customs document containing particulars of a ship, its cargo, and its destination

2. 1. a list of cargo, passengers, etc, on an aeroplane

   2. a list of railway trucks or their cargo

   3. a fast freight train carrying perishables

Usage

What does manifest mean? Manifest describes something that is readily understood, obvious, or apparent upon viewing, as in Saying the sky is full of flying pigs is manifest nonsense. To manifest something is to prove beyond all doubt, as in Climate change is manifesting itself through the increase of superstorms. To manifest also means to display or show plainly, as in Clara’s embarrassment manifested itself on her face as a blush. A manifest is a list of cargo carried by a plane, ship, truck, or train. To manifest the cargo is to list it on a manifest. Example: He managed to manifest a smile despite being so uncomfortable.

Synonym Usage

See display.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• manifester
  noun
• manifestness
  noun
• nonmanifestness
  noun
• premanifest
  verb
• remanifest
  verb (used with object)
• supermanifest
  verb (used with object)
• manifestable
  adjective
• nonmanifest
  adjective
• self-manifest
  adjective
• unmanifest
  adjective
• manifestly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• manifests
  plural

Participles

• manifesting
  present
• manifested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• manifest
  simple
• manifests
  simple
• have manifested
  perfect
• has manifested
  perfect
• am manifesting
  progressive
• are manifesting
  progressive
• is manifesting
  progressive
• have been manifesting
  perfect progressive
• has been manifesting
  perfect progressive

Past

• manifested
  simple
• had manifested
  perfect
• was manifesting
  progressive
• were manifesting
  progressive
• had been manifesting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will manifest
  simple
• will have manifested
  perfect
• will be manifesting
  progressive
• will have been manifesting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of manifest

First recorded in 1350–1400; (adjective) Middle English manifest(e), from Latin manifestus, manufestus “detected in the act, evident, visible”; (verb) Middle English manifesten, from Middle French manifester, from Latin manifestāre, derivative of manifestus. See manus

Explanation

Choose the verb manifest when someone shows something for everyone to notice. You might manifest your dislike of school food by stirring it around into a big pile of slop on your tray. Coming from the Latin manifestus, "caught in the act," manifest can be used as an adjective or a noun as well as a verb. As an adjective, manifest is a formal way to say that something is apparent to the senses and is synonymous with evident, apparent, or clear. If you have strong feelings about something, they will be manifest on your face. A ship or plane's manifest is the list of cargo or passengers on a particular trip.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

manifest manifests manifested manifesting

There had earlier been confusion over how many were involved in the tragedy due to an inaccurate passenger manifest which listed 133 people aboard, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

That Lockean principle was manifest in George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was a basis for the Declaration of Independence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

In ancient civilizations as in ours, it was status made manifest.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

"Oooh, I'd love to manifest an awesome title - like, 'Olivia Rodrigo lives the happiest, most joyful life any singer songwriter ever lived'."

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

This is how the effect of that switch—and, eventually, of every switch—becomes manifest.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

“It can take a long time to track down a source, in part because cyclosporiasis manifests itself so differently in people.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

"For decades, we've observed tremendous variability in how autism manifests, but we lacked direct evidence that these differences reflected distinct underlying biology," said Dr. Alessandro Gozzi, at Italian Institute of Technology.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026

In lower-income importing countries, it manifests as shortages: Bangladesh has limited air conditioning to a balmy 77 degrees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

The public hearings on Monday will focus on defining antisemitism, how it manifests in society as well as the lived experiences of Jewish Australians in all facets of the community.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

This filtering phenomenon is very widespread and manifests itself in many ways.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

For now, the AI boom “has mostly manifested through a surge in demand for computing capacity and infrastructure and a raging bull market in stocks,” Beamish’s team wrote in a Friday client note.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

But as I talked to mourners at Sayre’s funeral at his home parish of St. Cecilia Church in Tustin, Calif., on Monday, I realized that his fight for justice manifested in many other ways.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

"There does seem to be an increase in the visibility of it. We're looking at organised crime that has manifested because nobody has put it away, nobody has forced it underground," says Glantz.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

Their failure to qualify for the World Cup in 2018 fractured a sense of hope manifested by the more naive, stone-washed-denim-clad days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

In all of Great Ellen’s years in the nursery it had manifested only once, and Korako had taken the baby away on the spot.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

In its focus track, “Me Vale V,” the singer firmly declares he is manifesting his dreams and not paying anyone else mind.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

Whether that happened is debatable; what is not is that “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” also influenced him, manifesting in the lyrics’ repeated invitation to “Take a ride in the sky/On our ship, fantasize.”

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026

Instead of blanket-dismissing tech entrepreneurs or wholesale manifesting a god in the machine, Pope Leo has sought a careful, studied, moral middle ground: one that encourages technological progress but upholds human dignity above all.

From Slate ● May 28, 2026

In her verdict, Judge Holdham said she did not believe the men's visits to Nye's home had really been manifesting their religious beliefs because despite their repeated returns they had not actually left the Bible.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026

A strong streak of romanticism runs through mathematics, manifesting itself most clearly in the most fundamental areas of mathematics, number theory and logic.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

• demonstrate
• embody
• illustrate
• prove
• reveal
• signify