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.
-
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:
Their calculations suggest that cosmic acceleration could emerge naturally from Einstein's equations, potentially eliminating the need to invoke mysterious dark energy.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Still, Houli said she hoped a more "human voice" would emerge in Israeli society and demand an end to the conflict, regardless of who forms the next government.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
With between 430,000 and 480,000 absentee ballots from soldiers and diplomats yet to be counted, it could still take a day or two for the final election results to emerge.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Similar sentiments emerge even in places more directly in the line of fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
I brush past all of them until I emerge into the pale sunlight, gasping for breath, angry with myself for what I did to Theo, knowing that I needed to do it for myself.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
"The exposure-burial history that emerges from the model implies recycling of sediments previously deposited and buried in the rift valley... and then redeposited along the 'Ubeidiya paleo lake shoreline."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
Even intelligence agencies struggle to obtain reliable information, and much of what emerges is heavily caveated as unverified or highly likely rather than confirmed fact.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
“What emerges from this shakeout, in some sense, I think the jury is still out.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
Despite being jaded by the carbon-capture effort, Godwin said Orbital would dust off that research if demand emerges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
At that moment, a soldier emerges from it.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
This also has important implications for understanding whether large ice masses in Tibet persisted as the planet emerged from the last glacial period.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
The France captain, one of the best footballers on the planet, is at the centre of a major row after a video emerged this week of him appearing to make fun of former leader Mao.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Moderna’s stock fell sharply over the past few days after data emerged about its cancer vaccine that investors found disappointing, though researchers called it breakthrough.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
The history of the Junkanoo is not clear but it's believed it emerged out of the slave trade when enslaved men and women were given time off to mark Christmas.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
The egg cracked all the way open, and suddenly my idea emerged.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
As AI agents process the mass of data emerging from particle accelerators, the cosmos and the natural world, how do we know they are getting it right?
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
However, resistance is emerging, with several corporate issuers objecting to a new regulatory framework that allows third-party platforms to trade tokenized versions of their shares.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Anchored, via just eight bolts, to a concrete pad a floor below the ground, it’s a mesmerizing monument that feels as if it’s emerging from the earth to burst into space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Throughout the mid-1990s and 2000s, a series of cyberattacks rocked the federal government, demonstrating the emerging threat.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
And if they were right about the Nightbeast emerging tonight, the monstruo’s appetite would be at its peak.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
