View synonyms for appear

appear

[ uh-peer ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used without object)

to come into sight; become visible:
A man suddenly appeared in the doorway.
Synonyms: arise, emerge
to have the appearance of being; seem; look:
to appear wise.
to be obvious or easily perceived; be clear or made clear by evidence:
It appears to me that you are right.
to come or be placed before the public; be published:
Her biography appeared last year.
to perform publicly, as in a play, dance, etc.:
He appeared as the king in the play.
to attend or be present, especially to arrive late or stay but a short time:
He appeared at the party but left quickly.
to come into being; be created, invented, or developed:
Speech appears in the child's first or second year.
Law. to come formally, especially as a party or counsel, to a proceeding before a tribunal, authority, etc.

appear

/ əˈpɪə /

verb

to come into sight or view
copula; may take an infinitive to seem or look
the evidence appears to support you
to be plain or clear, as after further evidence, etc
it appears you were correct after all
to develop or come into being; occur
faults appeared during testing
to become publicly available; be published
his biography appeared last month
to perform or act
he has appeared in many London productions
to be present in court before a magistrate or judge
he appeared on two charges of theft

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Other Words From

reap·pear verb (used without object)
well-ap·pearing adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of appear¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ap(p)eren, from Anglo-French, Old French aper-, tonic stem of apare(i)r, apparoir, from Latin appārēre “to be seen, appear,” equivalent to ap- ap- ¹( def ) + pārēre “to be visible”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of appear¹

C13: from Old French aparoir, from Latin appārēre to become visible, attend upon, from pārēre to appear

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Synonym Study

See seem.

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Example Sentences

States were encouraged and allowed to lower standards to make it appear they were improving.

From The Daily Beast

I had the opportunity to appear on the popular Sons of Anarchy series in their final season.

From The Daily Beast

But on Monday, when he was scheduled to appear in court, KSM was back in his detention site.

From The Daily Beast

They are true believers and appear to love working for the man.

From The Daily Beast

But she is, in her way, holding a mirror up to nature, and objects in this mirror may be closer than they appear.

From The Daily Beast

Under the one-sixth they appear as slender, highly refractive fibers with double contour and, often, curled or split ends.

From Project Gutenberg

There is more of artfulness in the flatteries which appear to involve a calculating intention to say the nice agreeable thing.

From Project Gutenberg

“You appear to feel it so,” rejoined Mr. Pickwick, smiling at the clerk, who was literally red-hot.

From Project Gutenberg

Crystals of urea nitrate or oxalate (Fig. 19) will soon appear and can be recognized with the microscope.

From Project Gutenberg

He shall serve among great men, and appear before the governor.

From Project Gutenberg

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