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

Even after a perfect home inspection, hidden issues can emerge after a new homeowner moves in.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Ergen has put Dish subsidiaries into bankruptcy protection and is positioning EchoStar to emerge with tens of billions of dollars from spectrum sales, including to SpaceX, which has indicated plans to expand into mobile service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Where and how did life first emerge on Earth?

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

"Rather we aspire for it to grow, and perhaps appropriate conditions will emerge one day for all countries of the region to gather under its umbrella."

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

But Darwin kept returning to the mechanism of heredity: What had made the long-necked antelope emerge in the first place?

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Schuyler emerges as a born leader and wily diplomat with a rare gift for straddling different cultures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

A benefit to the approval of an mRNA flu shot is that, in future seasons where a new strain suddenly emerges, vaccine manufacturers will be able to more quickly release new shots to combat it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Nero’s bridge emerges from Tiber amid Rome drought.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

“There’s a beetle that emerges on the cusp of summer. It has lots of colors. Blue, gold, purple. It looks like a turtle,” she tells a befuddled Rhaenyra.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

A curling breeze emerges from nowhere, lifting the ends of my hair.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Algae followed at least one billion years ago and probably emerged even earlier.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

Seedance has emerged as a leader in AI tools among some indie filmmakers, who say it is more cost-effective than other options.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

The outbreak is the 17th to have emerged in DR Congo since Ebola was discovered 50 years ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

When Courtney emerged from her room, the house was empty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Nobody cares that three kids, a hellhound, and a lady have emerged from a manhole cover in the middle of the street.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Poudel said AI and other emerging technologies are expected to depend increasingly on neuromorphic computing, which is designed to operate more like the human brain.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

With four overseas players introduced this year, fewer emerging players have been given much responsibility during the tournament, but Sunrisers' batters struggled with Phillips' slinging, awkward action.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

But some experts believe a new strategy emerging from his administration could avert a more consequential defeat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Graham earned just 33 percent of the vote, a rather light primary showing for a sympathetic figure emerging from loss who’s campaigning with the president’s endorsement.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

Hale rode up fiercely on his horse, emerging from the tall prairie grasses.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

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