appear — English Dictionary

Verb

1. To come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

   Examples

   And God[…]said, Let[…]the dry land appear.

   More examples (1)

   There were also particles no one had predicted that just appeared. Five of them […, i]n order of increasing modernity, […] are the neutrino, the pi meson, the antiproton, the quark and the Higgs boson.

2. To come before the public.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

   Examples

   A great writer appeared at that time.

   More examples (1)

   Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.

3. To stand in presence of some authority, tribunal, or superior person, to answer a charge, plead a cause, etc.; to present oneself as a party or advocate before a court, or as a person to be tried.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

   Examples

   We must all appear before the judgment seat.

   One ruffian escaped because no prosecutor dared to appear.

4. To become visible to the apprehension of the mind; to be known as a subject of observation or comprehension, or as a thing proved; to be obvious or manifest.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

   Examples

   It doth not yet appear what we shall be.

   Of their vain contest appeared no end.

   More examples (2)

   ‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police[…]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?

   Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene,[…].

5. To seem; to have a certain semblance; to look.

   Usage

   • copulative
   • Intransitive

   Examples

   He appeared quite happy with the result.

   They disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.

   More examples (1)

   Mr. Campion appeared suitably impressed and she warmed to him. He was very easy to talk to with those long clown lines in his pale face, a natural goon, born rather too early she suspected.

6. To bring into view

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   [Angelo] is yet a devil / His filth within being cast, he would appear / A pond as deep as hell.

Verb

1. give a certain impression of being something or having a certain aspect

   Synonyms

   lookseem

   Broader terms

   seem

   Examples

   She seems to be sleeping

   This appears to be a very difficult problem

   More examples (2)

   This project looks fishy

   They appeared like people who had not eaten or slept for a long time

2. come into sight or view

   Antonyms

   disappear

   Broader terms

   come

   Examples

   He suddenly appeared at the wedding

   A new star appeared on the horizon

3. be issued or published

   Synonyms

   come out

   Broader terms

   happenmaterializematerialise

   Examples

   Did your latest book appear yet?

   The new Woody Allen film hasn't come out yet

4. (of a proposition) seem to be true, probable, or apparent

   Synonyms

   seem

   Broader terms

   be

   Examples

   It seems that he is very gifted

   It appears that the weather in California is very bad

5. come into being or existence, or appear on the scene

   Synonyms

   come along

   Antonyms

   disappear

   Broader terms

   change

   Examples

   Then the computer came along and changed our lives

   Homo sapiens appeared millions of years ago

6. appear as a character on stage or appear in a play, etc.

   Broader terms

   performexecutedo

   Examples

   Gielgud appears briefly in this movie

   She appeared in ‘Hamlet’ on the London stage

7. present oneself formally, as before a (judicial) authority

   Broader terms

   arrivegetcome

   Examples

   He had to appear in court last month

   She appeared on several charges of theft